Weapons factory in Poland should be top of Zelensky's shopping list, Tobias Ellwood says

Ukraine should be provided with a "bespoke" weapons factory on Nato land in eastern Poland, says Chair of the Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood.

The Bournemouth East MP believes a long-term solution for arming Ukraine is for a new Western-funded, Ukrainian-run weapons manufacturing facility.

Speaking to Forces News, Mr Ellwood explained that placing the factory within Nato territory would protect it from Russian attack and that "President Zelensky should have put it on the top of his shopping list".

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He went on to say the current arrangement is "not sustainable", adding: "They [Ukrainians] all have different types of weapon systems, different supply chains, procurement programmes, and it is not a long-term solution."

The former British Army officer and member of the Army reserves said his idea came from Taiwan's decision to build microchips in the United States, which provides an added layer of protection, "just in case China decides to do something silly".

"So, it's the same concept applying to weapons systems and equipment, but for Ukraine."

Regarding the timescale of such a large project to build a new factory, Mr Ellwood said: "When a war effort is turned on, when the machine starts to really move forward, you can produce things in a very rapid rate of knots if you want to."