Ukraine remains dependent on air defence supplies from US, — Zelenskyy
Ukraine manufactures most of its own weapons, but needs American air defense systems.
According to Censor.NET, citing European Truth, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made this statement at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin.
The president noted that Ukraine currently meets a significant portion of its own arms requirements for various types of operations—ranging from long-range strikes to battlefield operations and air defense—through its own domestic production.
Ukraine is awaiting the release of €90 billion in EU aid
At the same time, he said, the lack of funding remains the key problem. Ukraine is counting on Germany’s support in unlocking a €90 billion EU loan.
"We are counting on Germany, as one of the leaders of the European Union, to help us quickly unlock the 90 billion. This will allow us to reinvest in our Ukrainian manufacturing facilities. And then the volume of equipment used on the battlefield will be even greater," the president added.
PURL for Ukraine: Zelenskyy on the supply of air defense systems
Zelenskyy explained that the PURL program, under which NATO countries procure U.S. weapons for Ukraine, is primarily focused on supplying air defense systems to protect against ballistic threats.
He also expressed confidence that, in the future, Ukraine, together with its European partners, will be able to establish production of anti-ballistic systems.
"Until we have this, until there is a shortage of it, we must protect our families and our people. To do this, we need the PURL program. We are grateful to Germany for its contributions to this program," the president said.
