Zelenskyy explains how Ukraine can contribute to united European armed forces
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Europe should also aim to build large armed forces given Russia's plans to expand its army to 3.5 million personnel, adding that such an effort cannot succeed without the experience of Ukraine's military.
Source: Zelenskyy's online briefing with journalists, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Zelenskyy said that, judging by plans and documents, Russia aims to increase the size of its armed forces to 3.5 million by 2030.
He added that Russia already has "at least 1.5 million" people with war experience at one level or another.
"As for European forces, we are not talking only about numbers, but about capability and about experience, and without Ukraine's army, without one million Ukrainians, it cannot be done. And this will be the foundation of such an army," Zelenskyy said.
He believes Ukraine's experience would be extremely important for Europe's united armed forces. He also noted that from the start of the war, Ukraine has used European, US and other weapons and has shown what works and what does not in modern warfare.
"All this knowledge was passed to partners; partners clearly know which of their weapons work and what, frankly speaking, can be thrown in the bin. And the same with drones. Drones were transferred to us; today they no longer work. Today we produce drones of a different generation. And these technologies are also with our partners. This is already a major, in fact, contribution of Ukraine to such united armed forces," Zelenskyy stated.
"Russia did not spin up this machine for nothing. Simply a machine for producing weapons for numbers of people. Who stopped it? One traffic light. This is Ukraine, but the red light will not stay on forever. Help is needed," he said.
Zelenskyy also believes that Ukraine's armed forces could form the basis of Europe's united forces, but that Ukraine "does not have time for this" given the ongoing war.
Background: In his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskyy said Europe, under current circumstances, needs to create united armed forces rather than relying entirely on guarantees within NATO.
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