WASHINGTON– kyiv announced on Thursday that it had signed a cooperation agreement with the United States to increase weapons production in Ukraine, amid fears that Western support in the conflict with Russia would break down.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ukraine has depended on Western weapons and ammunition, especially the United States, to resist the offensive of Moscow’s troops.
But after nearly two years of conflict, there are signs of growing lassitude in Europe and the United States to provide more financial and military aid to kyiv.
On Wednesday, the US Congress stopped the request for another $106 billion in funds for Volodimir Zelensky and the Democrats included Israel as blackmail. But the strategy did not work and Republicans and Democrats opposed the proposal.
The signed agreement “will facilitate the construction of production infrastructure in our country to provide the army with the necessary weapons,” the Ukrainian presidency indicated in a statement, for which it also needs money and is a medium and long-term issue, not an immediate solution.
According to the presidency, this agreement was reached during a defense industry conference for Ukrainian and American manufacturers held in Washington this week.
“About 350 American, Ukrainian and European industrialists and officials attended the event,” the note detailed.
Several large Western arms manufacturers, such as Germany’s Rheinmetall and Britain’s BAE Systems, have already announced plans to work with Ukrainian companies within the country.
