Russia seeks to expand ballistic missile production, Zelensky says
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Russia is trying to ramp up production of ballistic missiles while many companies manufacturing components for its weapons have yet to be sanctioned by Western countries, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 2.
Zelensky's statement came after Russia attacked Ukraine over the past week with nearly 1,900 drones, almost 1,600 guided aerial bombs, and 144 missiles of various types, according to the president.
"A significant number of Russian enterprises working to sustain these attacks by producing components for drones, missiles, and guided aerial bombs have still not been sanctioned," Zelensky said in a social media post.
"That is why the aggressor is investing more and more in its ballistic weapons capability and is trying to ramp up production."
Russia's latest ballistic missile attack on Kyiv overnight on Aug. 1 killed nine people and injured more than 30 others. Zelensky said Ukrainian air defenses shot down only one of 27 ballistic missiles due to a lack of interceptors.
"Pressure is needed on every segment of Russia's defense-industrial complex, and that is exactly the pressure that will ultimately help reduce the number of attacks against our people," Zelensky said. "Sanctions must be expanded, and they must work."
Russia has targeted Ukraine's capital with ballistic missile barrages throughout spring and summer 2026. Moscow's latest tactic in its full-scale war entails overwhelming the country's strained air defenses, inflicting maximum damage on residential neighborhoods and cultural sites.
Attacks with ballistic missiles are more devastating and more deadly, since few weapons can shoot down Russia's high-speed Zircons and Iskanders. Patriot interceptor missiles remain the only effective defense — and Ukraine's supply has run dry.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would grant Ukraine a license to produce its own Patriot missiles, but he walked the offer back during a Cabinet meeting hours before Russia's latest ballistic missile strike hit Kyiv.
