The Ukrainian leader nevertheless called on the West to ramp up support for Kiev
The combined output of the entire world’s military industrial complex is not enough to maintain Kiev’s fight against Moscow, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said during a press conference in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday.
Responding to a question from a New York Times reporter, the Ukrainian leader said his forces were experiencing a deficit in drones and artillery shells, adding that the shortage of munitions was hampering Ukraine’s ability to reach “certain goals.”
However, fulfilling the needs of the Ukrainian military is not simple, Zelensky said, stating that “the production of all companies that make 155-caliber artillery shells is not enough to supply the artillery war in Ukraine.”
“There is no sufficient production volume in the world today, as in the case of artillery, that is sufficient for the Ukrainian army to withstand the war with Russia,” the Ukrainian leader stated. He added that even the one million drones he said Ukraine would produce in 2024 would not be enough to prevail.
Nevertheless, Zelensky went on to say that the US and its allies must continue supplying Kiev with munitions, explaining that without foreign weapons, Ukraine would be “weak on the battlefield, would have a big artillery deficit and would not be able to repel ballistic missile attacks,” which he said would eventually result in a “big crisis for all of Europe.”
His remarks come after Ukrainian Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin stated last week that no matter how much it boosts production, the country will never be able to fully cover its military needs on its own.
“Our needs today are greater than the needs of the total production of the USA and EU countries together,” Kamyshin said.