Ukraine's missile program to get additional funding, Zelensky says
Ukraine will allocate additional funding for the country's missile program, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 6.
The decision was made at the commander-in-chief headquarters meeting on Aug. 6. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Minister for Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin briefed the president on the production of Ukrainian drones and missiles.
"There will be more missiles of our production," Zelensky said, without providing details.
Ukraine began actively developing its missile program after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. In late July, Zelensky said the program had "good dynamics."
"We are getting closer to being able to use our own missiles, and not just rely on missiles from our partners," he added.
Ukraine has continuously pressed its Western allies for longer-range weapons but faced hesitation about delivering arms that could potentially be used to strike within Russian territory. The U.S. granted Kyiv limited permission to use certain American weapons to strike Russian targets near the region's border.
The British Storm Shadow missiles, as well as their French equivalent SCALP, have a range of up to 250 kilometers (150 miles), while the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) sent to Ukraine by Washington can fly roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles).
Kyiv has repeatedly struck targets deep inside Russia with homemade weapons, mainly with drones. Ukraine's arsenal reportedly includes arms with a range of over 1,000 kilometers.
Chris York
