Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the issue of providing Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles and the use of long-range weapons during a press conference in Brussels following meetings with European leaders.
About Tomahawk missiles
Assessing the results of his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, Zelensky cited sanctions on Russian energy and the absence of a meeting in Hungary without Ukraine among the achievements, but added: “We don’t have Tomahawks yet. That’s all. That’s the result.”
When asked by a journalist about his expectations from the meeting, the president replied ironically: “I don’t know, frankly, something comes up every day. I don’t know, maybe tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow we will have Tomahawks. I don’t know.”
Ukrainian long-range weapons
Responding to a question about the Wall Street Journal’s publication on the US lifting restrictions on the use of Western long-range weapons for strikes against Russia, Zelensky said he was not sure he was revealing anything new.
“We have a clear use for Ukrainian-made long-range capabilities. And we are using Ukrainian-made long-range capabilities from 150 km to 3,000 km — these are our newest capabilities,” the president emphasized.
According to him, the main issue is additional funding for the mass production of Ukrainian long-range systems. Zelensky emphasized the importance of using part of the frozen Russian assets for Ukrainian production.
Restrictions on American weapons
The president clearly stated the restrictions on the use of American weapons: “We have never used American weapons for long-range strikes against very important targets on Russian territory. This is important.”
Zelensky explained that Ukraine used various weapons with decent long-range capabilities “exclusively in combat zones” or to prepare for corresponding combat missions by the Russian Federation.
Crimea is Ukraine
The president also stressed that Crimea and the East are Ukraine, so it is impossible to talk about the use of weapons on the territory of Crimea as strikes on the territory of Russia.
“No, this is on temporarily occupied territory,” Zelensky emphasized.
Capabilities of the Ukrainian defense industry
According to the president, the capabilities of the Ukrainian defense industry in terms of drones and missiles alone are currently worth $35 billion per year, but Ukraine uses three times less due to a lack of funding.
“First of all, we must use any Russian money for Ukrainian production. Increasing it is cheaper and faster. And we are talking primarily about long-range capabilities,” Zelenskyy concluded.