Ukraine intensifies production of its own weapons to fight Russia amid Trump's uncertain policy - Media
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine is increasing its own weapons production, including missiles, due to the changing US stance. Production has increased eightfold, and 3,000 cruise missiles and drones are planned for production in 2025.
The United States' wavering stance on Ukraine in its fight against the invasion of Russian aggressors has prompted Kyiv to focus on its own arms production. Ukraine makes no secret that a key priority is to create its own missiles that match the destructive power and long range of the drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles that Moscow has launched in recent weeks, UNN writes with reference to Independent.
Details
As Russia intensifies attacks, despite any deadlines Trump tries to impose, Kyiv is looking for new ways to fight back. Ukraine has demonstrated that its advanced drones can destroy targets deep inside Russian territory, more than 1000 km from the Ukrainian border.
And it is already producing and using a family of missile systems called "Neptune", "Palyanytsia", "Peklo" and "Ruta".
According to Kyiv, production increased eightfold between 2023 and 2024, with further growth planned for this year. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine intends to produce 3,000 cruise missiles and unmanned missiles in 2025.
The domestically produced R-360 "Neptune" cruise missile with a 150-kilogram warhead has been modified, according to Zelenskyy, to give it an improved flight range. However, "Neptunes" and other Ukrainian missiles have an explosive payload that is only a fraction – sometimes a tenth – of what Russian missiles carry.
Ukrainian engineers are focused on long-range missiles capable of inflicting the same pain on Russia that it inflicts on Ukrainians every day. One of them is called "Bars" (Leopard), which was first publicly mentioned at a Ukrainian arms exhibition last April by Minister of Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin.
The scarce information that has emerged about it indicates that it is a hybrid between long-range drones and cruise missiles with a turbojet engine, which provides it with high speed and a flight range of 700-800 km with a warhead of 50-100 kg of explosives.
But it is unknown whether "Bars" is the game-changing missile that Ukraine is pinning its hopes on. A payload of only 100 kg gives it a much weaker strike force than Russian missiles, which often contain one-ton warheads.
Last year, Zelenskyy hinted at the successful testing of an engine for a homemade ballistic missile. Military experts suggest that this is a descendant of the Sapsan operational-tactical missile system, also known as Grom and Grom-2, which was conceived in the early 2000s but was plagued by funding problems and a lack of political will.
It was revived after Russia's invasion of the Crimean peninsula and eastern Donbas in 2014. Minister of Strategic Industries Smetanin is leading efforts to increase the country's arms production capacity.
Ministry advisor Yuriy Sak said that Ukraine heard alarm bells after the US first stopped support in the fall and winter of 2023-2024.
We realized that we needed to start moving towards self-sufficiency, and as a result, our ministry was tasked with practically reviving Ukraine's defense industry. We started developing contingency plans, which we now have.
Addition
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi emphasized the transfer of the educational process underground due to the threat of strikes. In addition, he called for an immediate response to air raid signals and the appearance of reconnaissance drones.