Ukraine accelerating missile production, Zelensky says

Ukraine is accelerating the country's missile production, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 3 following a meeting with top officials.

Zelensky was briefed on contracts for the production of Ukrainian-made weapons. There is a "significant volume" of new and long-term orders for first-person-view (FPV) drones, reconnaissance drones, long-range drones, and missile-drones, he added.

The officials also discussed the missile program and testing of new types of missiles.

"We can thank our Ukrainian missile developers. We are accelerating production," Zelensky said.

Ukraine began actively developing its missile program after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. As of early November, Kyiv has produced its first 100 missiles, according to Zelensky.

Previously, the president revealed that Ukraine had tested a domestically-produced ballistic missile and missile-drone, Palianytsia.

Domestic artillery production contracts were also a subject of the recent meeting, as Ukraine finds itself in an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield.

The European Union has delivered 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine, fulfilling the pledge it initially promised to deliver by the spring of 2024, the EU’s new top diplomat Kaja Kallas told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 1.

To become more independent from Western partners, Kyiv tries to ramp up its own domestic ammunition production.

Ukraine asking NATO for 20 air defense systems to prevent blackouts

The provision of HAWK, NASAMS, and IRIS-T batteries will help avert blackouts, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said as Ukraine braces for fresh attacks in the third winter of the full-scale war.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek