Ukraine and the United States have agreed to launch joint weapons production in a step that will enable Kyiv to start producing air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday as he wrapped up a visit to the U.S.
In his daily address to Ukrainians, Zelenskiy said the long-term agreement would create jobs and a new industrial base in Ukraine, whose economy has been devastated by Russia’s invasion and war.
“It was a very important visit to Washington, very important results,” Zelenskiy said in a video posted on the presidential website on Friday morning.
“And a long-term agreement - we will work together so that Ukraine produces the necessary weapons together with the United States. Co-production in the defence (sector) with the United States is a historic thing.”
This strikes me as a smart Biden-style political move. It causes an interdependence between Ukraine’s sovereignty and weapons manufacturers in the US, which would encourage further support for Ukraine.
Interesting to see if this reverses the beginning stages of some EU countries pushing back against supporting Ukraine (specifically Poland, which was a shocker for me). I’m sure that bit was all very real Politik what with their elections coming up and domestic issues to handle… but still. The U.S. is one bad election away from permitting expansive war in Europe. And some European countries are seemingly tiring of Ukraine taking the hits for them?
It’s a little ironic to think that Trump twisting the arm of the more Hawkish party into a basically pro-Russia geopolitical position due to his personal business interests might be the only thing that saves the world from World War III.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In his daily address to Ukrainians, Zelenskiy said the long-term agreement would create jobs and a new industrial base in Ukraine, whose economy has been devastated by Russia’s invasion and war.
Kyiv has stepped up efforts to boost domestic weapons production as much as possible because 19 months of war has created a huge demand for arms and ammunition to fend off Russian attacks along a 1,000 km (620 mile) front line.
“We are preparing to create a new defence ecosystem with the United States to produce weapons to strengthen further freedom and protect life together,” Zelenskiy said without disclosing more details.
To reduce its dependence, Zelenskiy and his team have been pushing for reforms in the domestic defence industry to modernise local producers and increase supplies to the front.
Zelenskiy has said previously that Kyiv will soon host an international arms production forum, inviting companies from over 20 countries.
Ukraine has already agreed several joint projects with central European producers to repair Ukrainian tanks and other vehicles, and has been working to develop drone and missile production.
The original article contains 364 words, the summary contains 178 words. Saved 51%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
