Zelensky said that by 2024, 30% of the weapons and equipment used by the Ukrainian army will be domestically produced

• Zelensky said that 30% of the military equipment used in Ukraine in 2024 will be domestically produced.

• Ukraine is building more and more of its own weapons to fight back against Russia.

• Western arms companies also opened facilities in the country to meet their war needs.

Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that 30% of the military equipment used in Ukraine in 2024 will be domestically produced, and the support of Western countries is not enough to resist Russia’s invasion.

“Thirty percent of everything our soldiers have on the battlefield this year was made in Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a New Year’s Eve speech.

He added that the ideas and efforts of people working in the country’s defense industry “make us stronger”.

Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s military industry has grown by leaps and bounds.

Ukraine is building more and more of its own weapons, such as naval drones, howitzers and glide bombs. It also builds its own missiles and successfully tested its first domestically produced ballistic missile in August.

An increasing number of Western manufacturers are also setting up operations in Ukraine. These include Virginia-based U.S. defense contractor AeroVironment, German weapons maker Rheinmetall and major British defense company BAE.

In his speech, Zelensky said that at a factory, he asked a young engineer: “How did you achieve so much? How did these people do all this?”

He said the man joked: “They’re not just people, they’re missiles.”

Ukraine’s allies have provided military support worth billions of dollars to the country. But Ukraine faces a much larger Russian force, and the brutal brutality of the war has consumed vast amounts of equipment on both sides.

Ukraine is at times woefully short of critical weapons and ammunition.

The New York Times reported last week that there is currently a shortage of U.S.-made long-range ATACMS missiles capable of hitting targets in Russia.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it needs more weapons and defense equipment to protect itself, and war experts have accused the West of providing trickle-down aid to Ukraine rather than delivering enough to make a significant difference on the battlefield.

Soldiers fighting in Ukraine say the way military aid arrives could pose challenges to long-term planning and strategy.

The return of President-elect Trump, who has previously criticized the scale of U.S. aid to Ukraine, could also lead to Ukraine needing to rely more on its own supplies.

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