Russia's missile manufacturing overwhelms European defense capabilities — Ukrainian official

Olesia Orobets, the founder of the NGO Price of Freedom and former Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, stated this on Espreso TV.

"We understand that European armies and European production are currently unable to repel the conventional weapons that Russia could theoretically use to bombard them. If we take Putin's favorite 'toy' - ballistic missiles - we see that European production of anti-ballistic solutions falls short both in quantity and scale, just like the production of Patriots.

And if we're speaking in Ukraine's interests, Patriots aren't enough either, because the Russians manage to roll off their assembly lines such a quantity of missiles that Europe collectively won't be able to repel if Putin suddenly develops an appetite to attack European territory," Orobets noted.

The founder of the NGO Price of Freedom also observed that the question remains: will the U.S., figuratively speaking, "pick up the phone" if something happens in Narva? Whether they will be able to respond to the spirit and essence of the transatlantic agreement - this remains a mystery to experts. After all, if we interpret Trump's statements, one can assume a different position, which, unfortunately, doesn't sound like reliable security guarantees.

"Therefore, at some point, European voters will indeed have to realize the fact that their politicians will need to invest more in weapons production to minimize Putin's or other dictators' appetites to profit at the expense of European prosperity, European territories, and stability," Orobets added.

• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that Europe will not be able to ensure its own defense without U.S. participation, even in the event of a significant increase in security spending.