Ukraine wants partners to allocate a quarter of a percent of GDP to its "defense" – Zelenskyy
Kyiv wants its partners to spend a quarter of a percent of their own GDP on arms production in Ukraine starting next year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a meeting with journalists.
According to him, Ukraine has sent an appropriate signal to its partners.
"Ukraine is part of Europe's security, and we want 0.25% of the GDP of a particular partner state to be allocated to our defense-industrial complex and domestic production," the president explained.
He also noted that this year Ukraine found $43 billion to finance its "defense industry": "This is money that goes to support the Ukrainian defense industry." In April, the head of the Ministry of Strategic Industry, Herman Smetanin, stated that by the end of 2025, Ukraine would be able to produce weapons worth $35 billion.
Regarding the countries joining the Ukrainian defense industry, Zelenskyy added: "Denmark is number one. There are positive agreements with Norway, with Germany, and after my last meeting in Canada, probably with Britain. There is a signal from Lithuania, they really want it. It is also important here that we talk to the private sector."
- The Baltic countries: Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are already allocating a quarter of a percent of their GDP to aid Ukraine.
- At the same meeting, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine has agreements with Germany and Canada to finance the production of interceptors for the "Shaheeds".
