President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Ukraine is making “very good” progress in producing its own missiles and drones as the country works to replenish its arsenal amid continuing Russian strikes.
Speaking at a briefing in the President’s Office on Nov. 3, Zelensky said several new domestically produced weapons systems are already in use and that mass production of missiles is expected by the end of the year.
“We are doing very well in producing our rockets, and today we are already using the new Flamingo and Ruta,” Zelensky said, replying to the question of a Kyiv Post journalist.
“I won’t tell you the numbers, but by the end of this year we expect mass production. We also have our Neptunes, both the regular and the long-range versions, and they’ve already proven effective.”
Ukraine’s rapidly expanding defense industry has developed a range of homegrown missile and drone systems over the past two years, including:
- R-360 Neptune – Ukraine’s flagship anti-ship and land-attack cruise missile, credited with striking the Russian cruiser Moskva in 2022 and since upgraded with a long-range version.
- Trembita – a low-cost, jet-powered cruise missile designed for mass production and capable of striking deep into Russian territory.
- Palianytsia – a Ukrainian “missile-drone” with a turbo-jet engine and modular warhead.
- Flamingo and Ruta – new Ukrainian missile systems that Zelensky said are already in operational use.
- FP-1 – a long-range one-way attack drone developed by the Ukrainian company Fire Point, reportedly capable of flying over 800 kilometers.
- Peklo – a domestically produced loitering munition designed for precision strikes.
- Various FPV and interceptor drones – part of a large-scale program under which Ukraine now produces more than 95 percent of drones used on the front line, according to the Defense Ministry.
Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s ambitious goal of boosting drone manufacturing, saying the country is on track to produce up to 1,000 interceptor drones per day.
“It’s not an easy process, but by the end of November we expect to reach 600 to 800 interceptor drones per day, if nothing is disrupted,” he said.
“Because sometimes, as you know, there are attacks – not only on our energy sector.”
During the meeting, Zelensky was joined by several senior officials, including Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak, his deputy Ihor Zhovkva, and Strategic Industries Adviser Oleksandr Kamyshin.
The president also announced plans to establish two “export capitals” – in Berlin and Copenhagen – to facilitate joint weapons production with international partners and expand Ukraine’s defense-industrial presence abroad.