MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky admitted that the Ukrainian army will have to retreat if his country’s Western allies stop providing support to Kiev.

"Now I am focused on getting aid from the West," Bloomberg quoted Zelensky as saying at a meeting with foreign journalists. Their [Western countries’] "focus is shifting because of the Middle East <...>. Without the support, we will move backward," he said.

According to Zelensky, the shift in focus in the wake of the latest escalation in the Middle East has slowed deliveries of 155-mm shells to Ukraine. "Our supplies have decreased," he acknowledged.

Kiev has repeatedly said that support from its allies who have ramped up weapons supplies to Ukraine since the launch of the Russian special military operation is key for Ukrainian troops. However, Ukrainian authorities insist that larger amounts of newer military hardware and ammunition be sent. Since the latest escalation in the Middle East, Zelensky has voiced concerns that Western support to Kiev may dwindle, despite pledges on the part of allies.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced the goal of supplying 1 million shells and rockets to Ukraine in late February. However, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said later that the bloc should assume that this amount will not be achieved within a year. He also said that EU member countries were in talks with their defense industries on the issue. In turn, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said earlier this month that the European Union currently produced fewer than 1 mln shots a year, while the amount needed is three times as large.