Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Ukraine would not survive for more than a week if Western military aid would stop.
His statement comes as Kyiv’s allies struggle to source weapons and equipment to donate to the war-torn nation in the coming months.
Speaking at a meeting organized by a Moscow-based think tank, Putin said Ukraine is only surviving the nearly two years of armed conflict because of the “multi-billion donations coming every month.”
He further stated that if one of the donors stops, Kyiv’s defenses will collapse and the country “will die in a week.”
“The same applies to the defense system. Just imagine the aid stops tomorrow. It will live for only a week when they run out of ammo,” he explained.
Current Turmoil
The US stands as Ukraine’s top donor of military weapons and equipment, giving away more than $113 billion since the February 2022 invasion.
However, US President Joe Biden admitted last week that he was worried that the current political turmoil in Washington could threaten its military aid to Kyiv.
Slovakia has also halted sending further aid following the election of pro-Russia Robert Fico’s political party.
Fico reportedly won after promising to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, block its potential entry to NATO, and oppose international sanctions on Moscow.
In addition to the US and Slovakia, a UK senior military official revealed that his country has run out of weapons to provide to Kyiv.
‘Europe Cannot Replace US’
Earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the 27-nation bloc would not be able to fully replace US support for Ukraine.
“Can Europe fill the gap left by the US? Well, certainly Europe cannot replace the US,” he stressed.
However, Borrell is optimistic that Kyiv’s biggest financial and military backer would soon get the better of the current congressional chaos and make way for further deliveries of defense items.