Ukraine's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (2021–2024), Valerii Zaluzhnyi, has announced that Ukraine and the United Kingdom are working together on a long-term strategy for the development of defence technologies.
"The defence industry must respond to the real needs of warfare, not marketing, and provide us with the necessary weapons regardless of external circumstances. To achieve this, we need to develop technologies and reduce their costs, because an offensive weapon cannot be a hundred times cheaper than the means used to defend against it. We need to establish joint production facilities. Investment must go not only into industry but also into science, applied research and specialist training. What we need is a long-term strategy, not isolated projects, and that is precisely what we are working on with the United Kingdom," Zaluzhnyi wrote on Facebook.
According to the diplomat, the issue is not only whether Ukraine can withstand the war, "but also whether our children will be able to live in peace".
He noted that establishing industrial cooperation between British and Ukrainian manufacturers is currently one of the priorities for Ukrainian diplomats, investors and defence companies.
"We need strong partnerships and effective alliances. Partnerships based not on empty promises or imaginary miracle weapons, but on real strength and experience gained at the cost of thousands of lives. I always emphasise in meetings with British government officials and manufacturers that we must start producing today what we will need tomorrow," Zaluzhnyi stated.
