There are no signals about stopping US arms supplies. However, country must be ready for any scenarios, - Zelenskyy
At present, there are no signs that U.S. military aid will be halted, but such scenarios cannot be ruled out in the future.
According to Censor.NET, citing Ukrinform, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made this statement during a conversation with journalists.
"So far, we have not received any indication that arms supplies might be suspended via PURL," the president said in response to a question about a possible suspension of arms supplies from the United States
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine must take a more strategic approach to defense support and prepare for various possible scenarios.
Ukraine needs to develop its own defense industry
"Back in 2023, we held a military exercise, and I told our troops at the time that we needed to prepare for the possibility that aid from the U.S. might stop or become limited and no longer free of charge. We need to diversify our supplies and reduce our reliance on certain scarce weapons, ammunition, and so on. And I told them to start preparing for the possibility that at some point, even if Ukraine pays, they won’t give us weapons," the president recalled.
According to the president, it was at that time that Ukraine began to focus more actively on developing its own drone production as an alternative to the scarce artillery shells.
"It was clear from the artillery shells that our war had driven their price up from 2,000–3,000 to 7,000. That’s simply a fact. And if you need at least 3–3.5 million shells—and drones weren’t available in such quantities back then, and Russia was ramping up artillery production, and it’s unclear how long the war will last—then it’s clear that there won’t be enough money for artillery. "Yes, of course, we started building our own 155-mm lines and many guns, but the biggest bet was placed on drones. And it worked—now everyone on the front lines can see the results," the head of state noted.
The president noted that access to certain types of weapons, particularly missiles for the Patriot systems, may become unreliable in the future due to global conflicts and shifts in partners’ priorities.
"Right now there's a war in the Middle East, but there could be other reasons later. We need to build our own independent defense industry in every respect. Basically, that’s what we’re doing. We have a shortage of anti-ballistic missiles. So, we need to work on developing our own. Or jointly with one of our partners. There are ideas in that direction," Zelenskyy said.
