Europe must rapidly establish its own production of missile defense systems and the missiles required for them.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy made this statement during his speech at the NATO Defence Industries Forum.

According to the Head of State, Ukraine highly values the support of its partners, including the transfer of Patriot systems and other air and missile defense systems.

At the same time, the current production capacity no longer matches the scale of today’s threats.

“This is a fact. And we must respond to this fact”, — the President stressed.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that countries protecting their citizens from ballistic missiles need significantly more such systems.

He said that Ukraine has already discussed with the United States the issue of obtaining licenses to produce Patriot systems and called on allies to support the implementation of this decision.

The President also noted that Ukraine continues to intercept the majority of cruise missiles effectively thanks to its integrated air defense system and the assistance of its partners.

At the same time, Russia attacks Ukrainian cities every day with hundreds of strike drones and launches thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles every week. Despite this, Ukraine’s defense industry continues to expand its own capabilities even amid the full-scale war.

In conclusion, Volodymyr Zelenskyy posed a rhetorical question to Ukraine’s allies:

“Is it really right to leave outside NATO a country and a people who have already created one of the most effective defense systems of modern warfare?”