Zelenskyy called on American companies to jointly produce drones with Ukrainian manufacturers

He said this at a meeting with journalists.

Our position: the use of US long-range weapons is in the interest of both sides. In Ukraine's combined operations, long-range missiles occupy a certain percentage, and the majority is occupied by Ukrainian drone production and Ukrainian missile production. Therefore, this is a combined operation to achieve a positive result in terms of military objectives.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President of Ukraine

According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine does not yet have such technologies as Tomahawk missiles, capable of hitting distances of more than 1,000 km. At the same time, according to him, the United States says that they have few such missiles.

Similarly, when, for example, the American side says: "What will happen if they attack us, and we don't have enough Tomahawks?" And I explain that in modern warfare, air defense systems are "thinned out" not with missiles, but with drones. God forbid that someone will use something against you, but you should know that you will need tens of thousands of drones. Because combined attacks are what work. That's why I said that not only do we want to buy your corresponding missiles, because we don't have them yet, but we will give you drones.

The president said that the US has a developed industry and can produce drones themselves, but they need practice on the battlefield.

The US has a large industry, but the industry itself says: "We don't have your practice today. And, of course, your drones are the best today." And so I said that we are ready to sell, and given our partnership, if we can have your missiles, we are ready to give.

He called on American companies to invite Ukrainian drone manufacturers to the United States and launch joint production.

We have always said that there are two aspects: the Mega Deal — regarding the purchase of American weapons, and the Drone Deal — regarding the purchase of Ukrainian drones. And they go hand in hand. Because the Mega Deal includes various missiles and corresponding air defense systems. And the Drone Deal includes all the other drones that we need today, and we cannot sell some, and those that we can export. I gave an example with naval drones. We produce four thousand, we need 2 thousand. Why not sell these 2 thousand to partners? That's normal. Let the companies sell. We buy weapons. And let our companies sell.