What Are the Security Deals Ukraine Is Discussing with Allies?

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen (S), the Prime Minister's husband Bo Tengberg and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a memorial ceremony at the Field of Mars at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Friday 23 February 2024. (Ritzau Scanpix/via Reuters)
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen (S), the Prime Minister's husband Bo Tengberg and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a memorial ceremony at the Field of Mars at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Friday 23 February 2024. (Ritzau Scanpix/via Reuters)
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What Are the Security Deals Ukraine Is Discussing with Allies?

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen (S), the Prime Minister's husband Bo Tengberg and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a memorial ceremony at the Field of Mars at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Friday 23 February 2024. (Ritzau Scanpix/via Reuters)
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen (S), the Prime Minister's husband Bo Tengberg and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a memorial ceremony at the Field of Mars at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Friday 23 February 2024. (Ritzau Scanpix/via Reuters)

Denmark became the latest NATO member to sign a 10-year agreement on security cooperation with Ukraine on Friday, the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Italy and the Netherlands said they were planning to sign soon.

WHAT ARE THESE SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS?

The Group of Seven wealthy nations signed a joint declaration at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July last year committing to establish "long-term security commitments and arrangements" with Ukraine that would be negotiated bilaterally.

The deals would promise continued provision of military and security aid, support to develop Ukraine's defense industrial base, training Ukrainian soldiers, intelligence-sharing and cooperation, and support for cyber defense.

The sides would also immediately hold consultations with Kyiv to determine "appropriate next steps" in the event of a "future Russian armed attack".

More than 30 countries have since signed the declaration.

WOULD THIS BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP?

Kyiv says the arrangements should contain important and concrete security commitments, but that the agreements would in no way to replace its strategic goal of joining NATO. The Western alliance regards any attack launched on one of its 31 members as an attack on all under its Article Five clause.

"There has been speculation that by concluding enough of these agreements, we do not need membership. False. We need NATO membership," said Ihor Zhovkva, the Ukrainian president's foreign affairs adviser.

WHO HAS SIGNED DEALS SO FAR?

Germany and France signed agreements on security commitments with Ukraine when President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Berlin and Paris earlier this month.

Britain in January became the first country to sign one of the security agreements with Ukraine for a term of 10 years, by which time Kyiv hopes to be inside NATO.

London said the deal formalized a range of support that it "has been and will continue to provide for Ukraine's security, including intelligence-sharing, cyber security, medical and military training, and defense industrial cooperation".

WHICH OTHER COUNTRIES ARE SET TO SIGN DEALS?

Ukraine has held at least two rounds of talks on the agreements with all the G7 countries, Zhovkva said.

More than 10 countries are in the active stage of talks or potentially starting soon, he added. The additional countries include Romania, Poland and the Netherlands.

The Netherlands said on Friday it would soon sign a 10-year security deal with Ukraine for continued military support, help in reconstruction and the improvement of its cyberdefenses.

"Without Western support, Ukraine as we know it will cease to exist," Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said. "The Russian threat will move closer, putting pressure on the stability and safety of our continent."

WHAT DOES UKRAINE WANT FROM THE DEALS?

Ukraine's Zhovkva singled out as "very important" the provision in the British deal under which consultations could be held within 24 hours to provide swift and sustained aid.

This, he said, went beyond the "infamous" 1994 Budapest Memorandum under which Ukraine was provided with security "assurances" by Britain, Russia and the United States in return for relinquishing nuclear weapons from its territory.

"We do not want to repeat the infamous experience of the Budapest declaration, which remained just a declaration," he said.

Zhovkva said there was no need for Ukraine to rush to agree deals. "I don't need 10 or 15 agreements concluded within one week. Rather, I would have this same 10 or 15 agreements deeply thought over, well-negotiated and with concrete signs of long-term and varied support for Ukraine."



Hezbollah’s Legacy in Syria: Drug Labs, Counterfeit Money Factories

Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Hezbollah’s Legacy in Syria: Drug Labs, Counterfeit Money Factories

Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Syrian border security forces patrol a border area in Wadi al-Hourani, Hawik village, near the Lebanese border (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Syrian border security forces have discovered dozens of factories producing narcotics, Captagon pills, hashish, and counterfeit US dollars in abandoned warehouses on a hilltop in Al Qusayr’s village of Hawik, near the western countryside of Homs, close to the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The illicit goods were intended for smuggling into neighboring countries and beyond, authorities said.

The border area, facing Lebanon’s Baalbek province, was until recently under the control of Hezbollah. Following the group’s expulsion, Syrian security forces dismantled the drug operations, paving the way for the Lebanese army to secure the region, according to officials.

In a makeshift drug lab perched on a remote hill along a secondary road in Hawik—just a few hundred meters from the Lebanese border—Syrian security forces found stockpiles of equipment and materials used in drug production.

Inside the warehouses, they uncovered industrial machinery, large blue storage tanks filled with raw substances for Captagon production, as well as wooden containers and sealed plastic boxes containing hashish.

Homs border security chief Maj. Nadim Mdakhneh told Asharq Al-Awsat that the previous regime and Hezbollah had turned the area into a drug smuggling route and a hub for illegal drug production, weapons trafficking, and counterfeiting before being expelled this month.

Syrian military operations forces launched a sweeping security campaign this week, targeting villages near the Lebanese border, including Hawik, Jarmash, Wadi al-Hourani, Akoum, and Wadi Hanna.

Clashes erupted with Hezbollah fighters, remnants of the ousted regime, and drug and arms traffickers.

The forces seized full control of the border strip, set up checkpoints, and implemented strict measures to prevent smuggling, officials said.

The crackdown included raids in several Syrian villages, particularly Hawik, Jarmash, and Hit—key hubs for drug trafficking.

Mdakhneh said security forces discovered around 15 drug production facilities and a counterfeit currency printing press.

“We seized massive shipments of weapons, drugs, and raw materials intended for smuggling,” Mdakhneh said. “These areas were the economic lifeline of these criminal networks.”

Syria and Lebanon share a 330-kilometer border, much of it unmarked and stretching across valleys and rugged mountains—terrain long exploited by drug smugglers and arms dealers.

Counterfeit Money Operation

In a third warehouse, Hezbollah operatives set up a counterfeit money operation, producing fake $100 bills using advanced printers, holograms, ultraviolet scanners, and an offset printing press, security officials said.

During Syria’s war, the country became the region’s top producer of Captagon, especially under ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Some reports have called Syria a “narco-state,” with British data estimating it produced nearly 80% of the world’s Captagon supply by the end of last year.

In another warehouse hidden in a mountainous area, a security officer opened a device and found round drug tablets inside.

“This is how they made and hid the drugs before smuggling them to the Gulf and beyond,” said security officer Nader Abu al-Bara, who took part in the raid.

Captagon Pills, Hashish Stored in Packages

Captagon pills were packed in sealed bags. Hashish was stored in medium-sized wooden crates and plastic containers, while processed batches were wrapped in red gloves for identification, security officials said.

Residents of the border region said civilians were strictly prohibited from approaching the heavily guarded drug production sites.

“No one was allowed near these facilities,” said Ahmad al-Saab, 55, a resident of Hawik. “Syrian intelligence and Hezbollah fighters stationed in the area kept us away. We often smelled strange, unpleasant odors, but we had no idea what was happening inside. We only heard rumors about factories, but no one dared to get close.”

Security forces discovered surveillance cameras and network lines connected to Lebanese territory during their operations, officials said.

Mdakhneh stressed that the crackdown was limited to Syrian villages near the Lebanese border.

He said coordination between Syrian military operations and the Lebanese army is ongoing, adding that “for the first time in 14 years, the Lebanese army has begun deploying in this area.”

Mdakhneh said clashes erupted with Hezbollah fighters and traffickers, and during the raids, security forces found documents linking members of Lebanese tribal families to the smuggling operations.

The trade in Captagon pills in Syria was worth an estimated $6 billion by the end of 2024, according to United Nations figures. The drugs were primarily smuggled to neighboring Iraq and Jordan before being trafficked onward to Gulf states.