Ukraine accelerates its weapons production due to fear that conflicts such as that of Israel or a possible tiredness of West affect economic and war assistance to kyiv, while its troops repel the offensive of Russian forces in the eastern city of Avdivka.
“I thank all the leaders, all the countries that help us with weapons, equipment and supplies (…), but it is evident that the fundamental direction of the State is our own production, our own weapons, our own ammunition for the forces of defense,” declared the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, in his usual daily message to Ukrainians this Friday.
Ukraine is ready to produce “everything from missiles and drones to armored vehicles and ammunition of the necessary caliber” to “provide our warriors with more Ukrainian weapons capabilities,” according to the head of state. The advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office Mijailo Podoliak assured Ukrainian public television that kyiv will seek to increase the production of long-range missiles to achieve parity with Russia and be able to confront its attacks.
“If we want to have parity, then we need not only produce drones, but also missiles. And we have already tested experimental prototypes that have a range of 750 to 1,000 kilometers,” he stated. In that sense, he acknowledged that Ukraine still cannot produce thousands of missiles per month, but assured that “it is working on it.”
kyiv’s concern about its arsenals is natural in the face of the increase in Russian war capacity, which has considerably boosted weapons production and could even be accumulating reserves for future offensives. British military intelligence noted today in its daily report that Russia has not used its long-range aviation in the past three weeks and has prioritized drone strikes.