Ukraine has reached a level of defense production that could allow it to manufacture more high-tech weapons than Russia over the long term, President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff on Friday, July 3.
According to Zelensky, the meeting focused primarily on expanding Ukraine’s domestic defense production, with participation from the country’s leading arms manufacturers.
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“Ukraine has reached the capacity to produce such a volume of technological weapons that, over the long term, can exceed Russia’s capabilities,” Zelensky said.
The discussions covered drone production, robotic ground systems, missile development, electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and other military equipment.
Zelensky orders push for more international funding
Following the meeting, Zelensky instructed the foreign ministry and the defense ministry to intensify efforts with international partners to secure additional financing for Ukraine’s defense industry.
“I expect concrete results and agreements with our partners,” he said.
According to Zelensky, investments in Ukraine’s defense production are investments in forcing Russia toward peace, and partner countries should see such cooperation as a shared achievement.
Long-range strikes to continue
Zelensky also said Ukraine’s long-range strike campaign has demonstrated that increasing pressure on Russia directly affects its ability to wage war.
He said limiting Russia’s military capabilities depends on making the consequences of the war increasingly visible to Russian society.
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“Ukraine will continue its policy of raising the cost of occupation for the occupier and limiting Russia’s ability to finance the war,” Zelensky said.
Missile and air defense programs accelerated
The president also announced a review of Ukraine’s missile program, including work on domestically produced ballistic missiles and anti-ballistic defense systems.
According to Zelensky, officials identified measures to accelerate production, testing and deployment of the new capabilities.
The meeting also reviewed deliveries of air defense systems, which Zelensky said would remain Ukraine’s top diplomatic priority in the coming days.
“Air defense for Ukraine will be the key priority in all diplomatic work, meetings and negotiations,” he said.
Ukraine has expanded long-range strikes deep into Russia, with missile alerts now reported across regions home to most of the population. Targets and warnings have reached as far as Siberia.
Earlier Russian monitoring channel Radar across all of Russia reported that in the past week alone, air-raid warnings have been issued across at least five regions of the Volga Federal District southeast of Moscow, with the Astrakhan region (around 900 km [559 miles] from the Ukrainian border) and parts of the North Caucasus (roughly 800–1,200 km [497-746 miles] away) also being affected.
On Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces struck the Ufa oil refinery, located more than 1,300 kilometers (808 miles) from the front line, for a second time, as well as a military-industrial facility in Russia’s Penza region (around 700 km [435 miles] from Ukraine) producing missile components.
According to a Bloomberg analysis published Wednesday, the expansion marks a shift from earlier phases of the war, when missile alerts were largely confined to Russian regions bordering Ukraine.
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