Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, stated that Ukraine is entering a new long-lasting phase of the war.

According to him, in order for Ukraine to win it, the resources must be carefully planned.

Oleksii Reznikov stressed that Ukraine was not preparing for the war “until May 9”, which was a certain moral boundary. The resources must be carefully planned so that the enemy would finally fail to hold up.

“By May 9, Russia suffered a strategic defeat – it could not destroy the Ukrainian state through military intervention and cause the change of power with Russian puppets. We forced it to reduce the scale of targets to the operational and tactical level,” he said.

Armament

Reznikov stressed that Russia is significantly outperforming Ukraine in resources. There was an understanding that the stockpiles of Soviet weapons under the conditions of intense hostilities were limited. Thanks to ongoing meetings and negotiations with the Defense Ministers of the partner countries, it became possible to change the philosophy regarding the support of Ukraine.

“We are receiving heavy weapons from our partners. In particular, American 155 mm M777 howitzers are already deployed at the front. Three months ago, this was considered impossible,” Reznikov said.

Provision

Speaking of the provision of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, the Minister of Defense noted that the escalation provoked an explosive increase in defense needs.

Ukraine was not fully prepared for this.

Due to the mobilization of the citizens, through the actions of the authorities and the work of volunteers, urgent needs were met.

“As a result, processes were launched to increase Ukraine’s defense potential. This applies to both procurement and production. We are focused on the need to provide 1 million people who will be fighting the enemy. For example, as of February 24, at the end of April, 50% of the total number of bulletproof vests provided to the Defense Forces were provided by the Ministry of Defense, and the other 50% came from various forms of charitable assistance, thanks to citizens, volunteers, and NGOs. As of May 13, this ratio was already 57% to 43%. Every day, we are increasing the volumes of supply,” Reznikov said.

Oleksii Reznikov stressed that the Government is currently investing in modern Ukrainian weapons and restructuring the processes to increase capabilities.

“We are already keeping the levels so that every day, there will be the reserves of armor suitable for at least 2 brigades. And these volumes will grow,” he said.

Training

Over 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers are already studying, or in the coming days will begin to master the equipment from the Ukrainian partners. They will later return as instructors, and some of them will immediately go into battle.

“Until the heavy foreign weapons would balance the forces and ensure a turning point in favor of Ukraine, time will pass. Now, the presence of foreign weapons at the frontline in Ukraine is nonubiquitous, this must be understood,” Reznikov added.

He also noted that Ukraine’s victory means the restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders.