West pledges to help Kiev with producing weapons to make up for diminishing aid - official
UKRAINE: WEAPONS-WEST-OPINION
MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. All talk that Ukraine is going to boost its own defense industry is empty bluster and the only reason the West is doing this is to justify its diminishing military assistance to Kiev, Yan Gagin, an adviser to the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told TASS.
Since the start of this past summer, Ukrainian politicians at various levels have been making statements about increasing Ukraine's defense capabilities. In particular, they talked about increasing the production of missiles, drones and heavy equipment that would be in line with NATO standards. In early fall, Ukraine held an international conference in Kiev in support of the Ukrainian defense industry. Kiev said the event brought together dozens of countries, but only few details emerged about what went down at the conference. The issue of expanding Ukrainian defense industry output has resurfaced again recently, now in the Western press.
Gagin said NATO countries currently need statements about Ukraine being capable of producing its own defense equipment, so they can justify their flagging support for Kiev.
"We see the fatigue in NATO countries from arms deliveries to Ukraine and from the sanctions they have announced against the Russian Federation. They are suffering from this and it is very hard for them to send money there all the time. And in order to get out of this situation nicely and save face, they say: ‘Well, everything is great. We helped Ukraine, they are good, they are strong. Now we will give them consultants, we will give them, perhaps, some investments from private companies, so that Ukraine can get up from its knees and start producing weapons on its own.’"
ТАСС 11.12.2023, 21:47 MSK