Western firms giving Russia tools to make weapons, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is strongly urging countries to impose sanctions on companies involved. (AP pic)
KYIV : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Western firms of supplying Russia with 'machine tools' used to make weapons, in remarks made public today.
He said companies from Germany, the Czech Republic, South Korea and Japan were among them, as well as one business 'supplying a small number of components from the US'.
Ukraine has repeatedly warned its allies have not done enough to sanction Russia or curb its supply chains since it invaded in 2022, saying it has found Western components in drones and missiles sent by Moscow.
'The Russian Federation receives machine tools from some countries – machine tools that they use to manufacture weapons,' Zelensky said.
He said most of the companies supplying tools to Russia were from China, but that dozens of Western firms were also culpable.
'We have passed on all this information to all countries, our partners, everyone… We strongly urge everyone to impose sanctions on these companies,' the Ukrainian leader added.
The Czech Republic said it was 'completely open' to reviewing Ukraine's evidence but that it could not respond to general allegations.
'I would add that Czechia keeps looking for ways to minimise the bypassing of sanctions,' Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky said in a comment to AFP via his spokesman.
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