Speaking to the New York Times, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were short of drones and artillery shells, saying the lack of ammunition hindered Ukraine's ability to achieve "certain goals."
However, the Ukrainian leader stressed that meeting the country’s needs is not easy. Mr. Zelensky said that “the capacities of all companies producing 155 mm artillery shells are not enough to provide for the artillery war in Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Photo: Reuters)
“There is not enough artillery ammunition in the world for the Ukrainian army to resist Russia,” the Ukrainian leader said. Mr. Zelensky added that even the million drones that Ukraine will produce by 2024 would not be enough to give the country an advantage over Russia.
However, Mr. Zelensky said that the US and its allies must continue to provide ammunition to Kiev, emphasizing that without foreign weapons, Ukraine would be "weak on the battlefield, have a major artillery shortage and will not be able to repel ballistic missiles from Russia."
Mr Zelensky's comments came after Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin said last week that no matter how much production was increased, the country would never be able to fully meet its military needs on its own.
“Our demand today is greater than the total production of the US and the European Union (EU) countries combined,” said Alexander Kamyshin.
Speaking recently about peace talks with Russia, President Zelensky said that a ceasefire in the conflict in Ukraine would not lead to political dialogue and would only benefit Moscow. According to the Ukrainian leader, any pause would allow Russia to regroup and increase ammunition supplies "and Kiev will not risk it".
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has lasted for nearly two years and has gradually become a war of attrition. There has been a feeling of fatigue in the US and Western countries that have aided Kiev. Many countries are considering continuing to pump money and military aid into Kiev to fight against Moscow. In the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict falling into a stalemate, many peace proposals have been put forward, but have not yet yielded results due to differences in views between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly accused the US and its allies of deliberately trying to prolong the conflict, warning the West not to provide weapons to Ukraine, stressing that this would only escalate the conflict and cause unnecessary casualties without changing the situation of the war.
Kong Anh (Source: RT)
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