Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a nightly video address on Monday, the 21st of October, that the US is preparing an aid package worth 800 million US dollars to finance the production of drones in Ukraine, in addition to a 400 million US dollar aid package for new weapons announced during the visit of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kiyv, reports Reuters.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has focused its efforts on increasing domestic production of weapons, in particular drones.
“A separate package of 800 million dollars for the Ukrainian drone industry is also being prepared,” said Zelenskyy.
“Ukraine is grateful for this. We must ensure that, regardless of political threats in the world, Ukraine can constantly defend its sovereignty and independence.”
At a meeting with foreign arms manufacturers earlier this month, Zelenskyy said Ukraine could produce four million drones a year and is rapidly ramping up production of other weapons. He said Ukraine had already signed a contract to produce 1.5 million drones this year.
Austin’s visit, his fourth and likely last as Pentagon chief under Joe Biden, focused on US efforts to help Kyiv strengthen its defences as Russian forces slowly but steadily advances in eastern Ukraine.
Austin described Ukraine’s fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-and-a-half-year invasion as critical to Western security, saying that if the West failed to continue supporting Ukraine, “Putin’s shadow” would cast across Europe.
“We must all understand that Putin’s attack is a warning. It is a foreshadowing of a world shaped by tyrants and thugs – a chaotic, violent world divided into spheres of influence”, he said.
US to give 800 million dollars for drone production in Ukraine, says Zelenskyy
