Zelenskyy says it's cheaper to stop Russia from producing missiles than to save Ukraine's energy system

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised the West for the fading discussions on providing Ukraine with long-range missiles and for insufficient efforts to counter the circumvention of sanctions against Russia, stressing that preventing Russia from producing missiles would be "cheaper" than spending money to save Ukraine's energy system destroyed by Russian strikes.

Zelenskyy noted at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Russia is still able to produce missiles because it finds ways to bypass Western sanctions and obtain the necessary components.

"Everyone sees how Russia tries to freeze Ukrainians to death at 20 degrees Celsius below zero. But Russia couldn't build any ballistic or cruise missiles without critical components from other countries. And it's not just China," Zelenskyy said, clarifying that the components also come from Europe, the United States and Taiwan.

"Right now, many are investing in stability around Taiwan to avoid war. But can Taiwanese companies stop contributing electronics to Russia's war? Europe says almost nothing. America says nothing. And Putin makes missiles," Zelenskyy said.

He thanked every country and company currently helping Ukraine repair its damaged energy system, as well as Europeans for contributing to the purchase of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems through the PURL programme.

"But wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to just cut Russia off from the components it needs for missile production? Or even destroy the factories making them?" Zelenskyy asked, moving on to the issue of long-range capabilities.

"Last year, most of the time was spent talking about long-range weapons for Ukraine and everybody said that the solution was within range. Now no one is even talking about it, but Russian missiles and Shaheds are still here and we still have the coordinates of the factories where they are made. Today they target Ukraine. Tomorrow it could be any NATO country and here in Europe we are advised not to mention Tomahawks. Not to mention Tamahawks to the Americans, not to spoil the mood," he added.

Zelenskyy also stressed in his speech that Oreshnik missiles deployed in Belarus are "never just decoration" and that Europe should respond to this threat in some way.

In addition, the president criticised the failure of Europe's initial plan to use Russian assets for a reparations loan to Ukraine.