The European Union’s defense chief on Tuesday proposed deeper integration of the bloc’s defense industry with Ukraine as a U.S. peace plan remains in flux and Russia’s unconventional warfare operations rattle the 27-nation bloc.

EU lawmakers are due to hold a vote on a 1.5-billion euro ($1.7 billion) program, with 300 million euros ($345 million) slated for the Ukraine Support Instrument.

Ukraine’s defense industry “needs us," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, without mentioning the ongoing peace negotiations to end the war. "But we need Ukraine’s defense innovations even more,”

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