Zelenskyy says it's cheaper to stop Russia producing missiles than to rescue Ukraine's energy system

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised the West for allowing discussions on providing Ukraine with long-range missiles to fade away and for making insufficient efforts to counter the circumvention of sanctions against Russia. He stressed that preventing Russia from producing missiles would be "cheaper" than spending money on rescuing Ukraine's energy system, which has been devastated by Russian strikes.

Source: Zelenskyy in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy noted that Russia is able to continue producing missiles because it finds ways to bypass Western sanctions and obtain the necessary components.

"Everyone sees how Russia tries to freeze Ukrainians to death at minus 20 degrees Celsius. But Russia couldn't build any ballistic or cruise missiles without critical components from other countries. And it's not just China," Zelenskyy said, pointing out that components also come from Europe, the United States and Taiwan.

"Right now, many are investing in stability around Taiwan to avoid war. But can Taiwanese companies stop contributing electronics to Russia's war? Europe says almost nothing. America says nothing. And Putin makes missiles," Zelenskyy said.

He thanked every country and company that is currently helping Ukraine repair its badly damaged energy system, as well as the European countries contributing to the purchase of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems through the PURL programme.

"But wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to just cut Russia off from the components it needs for missile production? Or even destroy the factories making them?" Zelenskyy asked, moving on to the issue of long-range capabilities.

Quote: "Last year, most of the time was spent talking about long-range weapons for Ukraine, and everybody said that the solution was within range. Now no one is even talking about it, but Russian missiles and Shaheds are still here and we still have the coordinates of the factories where they are made. Today they target Ukraine – tomorrow it could be any NATO country. And here in Europe we are advised not to mention Tomahawks. Not to mention Tomahawks to the Americans, not to spoil the mood."

Background:

• Zelenskyy also stressed in his speech that the Oreshnik missiles deployed in Belarus are "never just decoration" and that Europe should respond to this threat in some way.
• He was also critical of the failure of Europe's initial plan to use Russian assets for a reparations loan to Ukraine.

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