<h1>Western states move from NATO promises to contracts and investments with Ukraine's defense industry, raising complex legal risks</h1> Western states are shifting from NATO accession promises to contractual and investment-based security guarantees by funding and partnering with Ukraine's defense industry to scale production, transfer technology, and enter licensing and joint-venture manufacturing arrangements. Legal issues likely to arise include the structure and enforceability of state-backed procurement and investment agreements, export-control and sanctions compliance, intellectual-property and technology-transfer terms, liability and warranty regimes for battlefield-tested equipment, procurement transparency and procurement-law constraints, and state aid or subsidy rules under donor jurisdictions. Contractual clarity on production quotas, jurisdiction, dispute resolution and termination will be critical.