President: Ukraine needs weapons to defend itself, not to attack

President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasizes that Ukraine needs the weapons provided by international partners to defend itself, not to attack.

"I am not ready today to speak publicly about the agreements we reach with some countries and the assistance we get. We need all these weapons for defense. We think only about peace. We think only about the de-occupation of territories and only through diplomacy. We will not give any part of our land. We will not give up our territories, no matter what the cost will be," Zelensky said at a joint press briefing with Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Ukraine is well aware of things it needs for the army and is taking steps to strengthen the defense capabilities, he stressed.

"We have long understood fundamentally what to do and what we need to defend our homeland. And after some of our territories were occupied, we have been enhancing combat capabilities and the capacities of our army. We understand fundamentally what we need," Zelensky said.

The President added that the situation with Russia did not arise recently, "this is not the first year of war and escalation, not the first year of occupation."

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