Former commander of U. S. Army Europe, General Ben Hodges, said Kiev should not expect additional military assistance from Washington even if the conflict in Iran ends quickly.

According to Hodges, even if the war with Iran were to end immediately, he does not expect a rapid increase in air defense support for Ukraine. He believes that gap will likely have to be filled by European countries and Canada.

Hodges said Vladimir Zelensky likely raised the issue of strengthening Ukraine’s air defense at the G7 summit. At the same time, he did not rule out that European states, including Germany, Britain and France, may expand their support for Ukraine’s air defense in the future.

Earlier, Zelensky said Kiev has the technical capability to produce missiles for Patriot air defense systems, but needs a U.S. license to do so. According to him, Washington understands the importance of the issue and is ready to consider it.

He also noted that a similar license had already been granted to Germany, where production of such missiles has been established. Zelensky stressed that Ukraine has all the necessary capabilities to carry out a similar project.