Ukraine manufactures most of the weapons it needs for the war with Russia and could even double its production if its allies provided adequate funding for this purpose, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday in Berlin, where he signed several military cooperation agreements with Germany and secured a funding commitment from the German government for the purchase of hundreds of new American Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, Reuters and DPA reported.

"Most of the weapons Ukraine uses for various operations, from strikes against deep-seated targets to frontline combat and air defense, are now manufactured in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The Ukrainian president also argued that Ukraine’s military production could even be doubled if it received sufficient funding from the countries supporting it in the war with Russia. “We simply don’t have the money, but we discussed this to some extent today,” Zelensky noted.

During this visit, Germany and Ukraine agreed on several defense cooperation agreements, including a deal on drone production, which Zelenskyy claimed could become one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

For his part, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz praised Ukraine’s defense industry, which he said has become the most innovative. “Through our support, we are strengthening both German and European defense capabilities, as well as our industrial base,” he said, explaining Germany’s substantial support for Ukraine in this war.

Germany is Europe’s leading provider of military aid to Ukraine. Since the start of the war, launched by Russia in February 2022, Germany has provided Ukraine with military aid worth approximately 55 billion euros, plus 11.5 billion euros allocated in the current year’s budget.

Much of this aid has been used to finance the purchase of American weapons. During Zelenskyy’s visit, the German government announced that it would pay for Ukraine to receive hundreds of Patriot missiles, manufactured by the American company Raytheon, as well as new IRIS-T air defense systems, manufactured by the German company Diehl Defense.

Zelensky also stated that teams from both countries are still working out the details of the drone agreement. “Germany is one of our major partners, so I am confident that we will have one of the largest—perhaps even the largest—agreements of this kind, at least in Europe,” he said.

The German Ministry of Defense stated that the drone production project will involve the establishment of a joint venture that will supply thousands of drones to the Ukrainian military. Berlin has also agreed to invest hundreds of millions of euros to fund new Ukrainian capabilities for strikes deep into Russian territory.

AGERPRES