Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, has opened the first International Defense Industries Forum in Kyiv, in a bid to draw more arms manufacturers to build arms in Ukraine.
Kyiv has relied heavily on Western assistance since Russia attacked Ukraine last year but is increasingly aiming to strengthen its domestic arms industry amid worries support from its supporters may waver.
At the opening, Zelenskyy said in a speech said, “Our first task is to win this war and return a lasting and, most importantly, reliable peace to our people. We will accomplish this task through our cooperation with you.”
He said, “We are interested in localizing the production of equipment necessary for our defense… and advanced defense systems used by our soldiers that give Ukraine the best results at the front today.”
Officials from over 30 nations and 250 defense firms were gathered for the forum, which comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy lobbies the Western nations for more arms to wage a counterattack against Russia.
Ukraine launched its pushback to retake occupied territory in June but has admitted sluggish progress as its armies encounter lines of heavily fortified Russian defenses.
