"Artillery, for example, 155 caliber. The whole world, the production of all the companies that generate the production of 155 caliber artillery shells is not enough to sustain a war with artillery in Ukraine... There is not enough production in the world today, using artillery as an example, enough for the Ukrainian army to withstand a war against the Russian army," Zelensky told a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, posted by his office on YouTube.
The Ukrainian leader said that Kiev "is lacking drones and shells," adding that there is "a deficit" to achieve "certain goals that we are working towards."
Ukrainian Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin said last week that Kiev's arms production would never fully cover arms needs.
"We will be weak on the battlefield, we will have a big shortage of artillery, we will not be able to repel ballistic missile strikes, there will be a large number of killed and wounded people... There will be a big crisis for the whole Europe. Without help from the United States and the European Union, Ukraine will struggle, will be weaker, and Russia will have the opportunity to take us over," Zelensky said when asked what could happen if Western aid stops.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk told BBC in December that the Ukrainian army had a serious shortage of artillery shells, adding that Kiev was accelerating the production of kamikaze drones to compensate for the lack of artillery shells.
Western countries have been providing military and financial aid to Kiev since the start of Russia's operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict. In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian strikes.