(Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday 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, Zelenskiy said a meeting with top commanders had been devoted to the development of domestic weapons supplies in the more than 2-1/2-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,” Zelenskiy 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 Zelenskiy calling last year for 1 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.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Rod Nickel)