Zelenskyy to Sweden: The day will come when joint production opens in Ukraine

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — Sunday, 7 January 2024, 17:44

Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his speech at the conference Society and Defence, photo: Office of the President

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called the joint production of weapons and equipment with Sweden a priority for Ukraine.

Source: Zelenskyy's speech at the annual Swedish national conference Society and Defence (the video posted on the president's Telegram)

Quote: "Ukraine has already started joint defence activities with Türkiye, Romania, Poland, and the United Kingdom. We have relevant agreements with Czechia, the United States and Germany. And, of course, our offer to you is to work together, produce together, and strengthen together.

Ukraine is already and will always be one of the most important European security donors. We want to ensure that we can rely on the best weapons and equipment available in the world for our own security and the security of our partners.

Therefore, joint production with Sweden is a priority for us. And I am confident that the day will come when we are able to see the opening of the first joint production facility in Ukraine."

Details: In his speech, Zelenskyy stressed that "Russia is using the potential that has been accumulated over the life of several generations against Ukraine and, in hybrid forms, against the whole of Europe". He clarified that this applies to weapons, industrial and economic capabilities, and the energy potential of Russia, which it spends on waging its war against Ukraine.

However, the President is convinced that "even Russia can be brought back within the framework of international law, its aggression can be defeated".

"Of course, Ukraine would not surrender to the occupier and would not accept the occupation under any circumstances, even the worst. Every nation that values freedom has ways to fight, even when it is difficult or impossible to rely on anyone's help. But to fight successfully, to win back what is ours, to return security to people, to our region and to teach the aggressor that aggression does not bring any benefit – this is possible only if the defence draws strength from solidarity," he said.

Background:

On 19 August, representatives of Kyiv and Stockholm signed a statement of intent in Sweden on the joint production and service of the Swedish-designed CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles.
On 10 September, Hanna Maliar, then-Deputy Defence Minister, said that Ukraine and Sweden have a goal to jointly produce 1,000 CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles for the Ukrainian army.

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