OREANDA-NEWS. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country plans are to build a large navy by 2035.

“We are working on this. There is a task to build a large fleet by 2035. This is long enough, but the results of the first stage can be clearly seen on August 24 this year. Our task is to build a professional powerful fleet capable of repelling anyone. We are a peaceful state, but we must be ready for any steps, "Zelenskiy said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists published on Thursday by the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper.

He noted that the country cannot wait 20 years for the emergence of infrastructure for full-fledged shipbuilding, therefore, the construction of the fleet will begin in other states. "At the same time, we are building infrastructure in Ukraine to pick up this process. There will be corvettes, there will be military boats, there will be small submarines. All this will certainly be. The same applies to military bases: the construction of the first will begin soon in Berdyansk," said the president.

Zelensky added that in this project, Ukraine is counting on the assistance of the EU and the United States and has already received the support of the UK.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in December 2014 amended two laws, abandoning the non-aligned status of the state. In February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament adopted amendments to the constitution, securing the country's course towards the EU and NATO. Ukraine has become the sixth state to receive NATO Enhanced Partner status.