Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal has asserted Ukraine’s role in achieving a peace deal.
He noted that the Ukrainian side understands and appreciates the desire of US President Donald Trump to conclude a peace agreement, but “the approach is important, the way is important.”
He emphasized that Ukraine should be an important participant in the peace process, as “it is impossible to achieve peace in Ukraine, the victim country, without its participation, without the participation of the leader of our state, President Zelenskyy.”
“Therefore, I repeat today, we must very calmly, through diplomatic means, in a very adult way, find a solution to achieve a just and lasting peace and return this peace to the European continent, return security to Ukraine and Europe and once again prove the importance and greatness of the United States as a world leader in terms of maintaining global security.”
Denys Shmyhal
Shmyhal expressed hope that the United States and the Trump administration will take a position to maintain the global security system at least at the level it was before the Russian invasion.
Also, the Ukrainian Prime Minister said that his country is “firmly determined to continue co-operating with the United States” following the news that the US is pausing aid to Kyiv.
Speaking at a news conference, Shmyhal says Ukraine “will continue through diplomatic and other channels available” to work with the US.
He stated that US military aid is “critical”, adding that American support has saved thousands of Ukrainian lives.
Shmyhal thanked America for three years of continued support.
He also thanked Europe for its support, and called European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s recently announced plans for extra defence funding “an important first step.”
Aid Delay Not New
As he spoke to reporters, Shmyhal stated that Ukraine has had “various times during these three years [since Russia launched its full-scale invasion]” when aid has been delayed.
He noted that Ukraine has “no choice” than to continue fighting. “This defence doesn’t give us a pause because the enemy does not give us a pause,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the army is being supplied “with everything necessary whatever the circumstances.”
He added that Ukraine plans to increase domestic arms manufacturing by 50% this year, saying this can meet “all our needs” in naval technology and land drones.
He stressed that Ukraine is also manufacturing its own artillery and will meet all of its needs domestically this year.
Earlier, Hanna Shelest, the security studies programme Director at Ukrainian Prism, a Ukrainian foreign policy and security think tank, said tha Ukraine has been preparing for a partial or full withdrawal of US backing “since April last year when the Congress had been delaying adopting the legislation of the new package of support.”
She noted that the US provides about 30 percent of military equipment and gear needed, while Ukraine has been ramping up production inside the country thanks to the “Danish model” as it also turns to other ammunition producers like South Korea.
The so-called Danish model refers to countries directly financing the production of military equipment and weapons in Ukraine.
The Danish Foreign Ministry said last year that after Denmark’s initiative to invest directly in the Ukrainian defence industry, the European Commission had asked the Danish government to lead the effort to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s domestic production.
Shelest, however, acknowledged that US support withdrawal be a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“At least immediately on the ground, there can be some difficulties as we understand that the amount of the weapons used per day – not even speaking about per month – is much more than a single country can produce.”
Hanna Shelest
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