The United States is actively discussing with Ukraine how Washington can continue to help the Ukrainian industry produce the necessary self-defense weapons directly in Ukraine, reported U.S. acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass.

Air defense is certainly a top priority right now, and the United States is paying close attention to it. But U.S. support is not limited to this, and the United States is not just discussing which systems the country will supply. The United States are actively discussing how the country can continue to help the Ukrainian industry produce here in Ukraine what Ukraine needs for self-defense, Bass said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday evening.

He also emphasized that the United States maintains constant contact between senior officials and military professionals on how Washington and other allies and partners can best support the Armed Forces of Ukraine in defending Ukrainian territory and ending the war.

An obvious need at the moment is air defense, and that's why Ukraine has seen such strong commitments from the United States and other allies and partners to provide additional systems, additional interceptors to reduce Russia's ability to destroy civilian infrastructure, to destroy key elements of the electrical grid necessary to maintain power in hospitals and other key infrastructure facilities, Bass said.