Ukrainian service members of the 33rd Separate Mechanised Brigade practice firing an anti-tank guided missile weapon system MILAN as they attend a military drill near a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, 13 June 2024;
Credit: Reuters/Alina Smutko/File Photo
(Reuters) - On Tuesday 8 October 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine needed to secure and deploy advanced missiles and to achieve faster results with them on the battlefield.
Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelensky said a meeting with top commanders had been devoted to the development of domestic weapons supplies in the more than two-and-a-half year war against Russia.
This, he said, involved drones, electronic warfare and, above all, deploying missiles that would reap rapid benefits in battlefield confrontations with Russian forces.
"Special emphasis is on our national missile programme in all its elements. In all of Ukraine's missiles achievements, there must be more combat accomplishments both at the front and on Russian territory," Zelensky said. "Results are needed faster. And all relevant tasks are now being carried out."
Since Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion, Ukraine has requested its Western partners, principally the United States, to supply sophisticated long-range missiles.
It has also focused on rapidly developing a domestic arms industry. Much of the focus has been on drones, with Zelensky calling last year for one million to be manufactured in 2024, but officials have also stressed the importance of missile development.
Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said this month Ukraine would announce in the coming months the development of new missiles, including ballistic missiles.
