A looming dropoff in U.S. weapons deliveries is threatening to strain Ukraine’s budding domestic arms production to the breaking point. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration prepares negotiations with their Russian counterparts, Ukrainians fear being cut out of negotiations — and cut off from future U.S.
Ukrainian weapons startups are finally seeing an inflow of funds from Western investors who have long been intrigued by the Ukraine's defense tech sector but have so far kept their money out of the war-torn country. Financial analysis firm Pitchbook provided the Kyiv Independent with data showing a four-fold rise
In the three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukraine has almost certainly become the largest producer of drones in the Western-aligned world. Early workshop tinkering on mainly commercial Chinese drones evolved into steadily more professional and massive production of domestic unmanned aerial systems (UAVs). The industry’s rapid
Ukraine is already using laser technologies to hit Russian targets, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published on Feb. 3.
"We have the capacities and capabilities to create, and we are working on creating, our own domestic air defense complex," Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said on Jan. 19.
The Danish model is a partnership that enables Kyiv to secure funding from allies specifically for its defense production.
The new aid package would include landmines, drones, Stinger missiles, and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), an official familiar with the plan told Reuters.
"The domestic Oncilla-Shturm armored vehicle demonstrates Ukraine's progress in creating equipment that meets the modern needs of the battlefield," Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said.
A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov arrived in South Korea on Nov. 27, with the aim of requesting military aid from Seoul, several media outlets reported.
Ukraine is actively working on developing its own guided aerial bombs, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Anatolii Barhylevych reported on Nov. 24.
Lithuania has delivered another aid package to Ukraine, Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defense reported on Nov. 24.
The announcement came during Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov's working visit in Sweden and his talks with his Swedish counterpart Pal Jonson.
The new aid package will include HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) ammunition, artillery shells, and Javelin surface-to-air missiles, in addition to a wide range of spare parts and equipment, according to officials.
Ukraine began actively developing its missile program after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The "small numbers" of contractors will not participate in combat operations and will be stationed in far from the front line, one of the unnamed American officials told Reuters.
The locations of military sites in Ukraine are no longer displayed on Google Maps, said Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Counter-Disinformation Center under Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, on Nov. 7.
"These satellite images were taken more than a year ago and come from publicly available sources — we deliberately do not publish the latest images of war zones," Google said.
After "a public reaction," Google representatives contacted the Ukrainian side, and the company is already working on fixing the issue, Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said in a later update on social media.
South Korea has hinted it could change its long-standing stance on not providing Ukraine directly with weapons in light of the dramatic escalation of North Korea's role in Russia's full-scale invasion. So far, Seoul has only provided humanitarian and non-lethal military aid to Kyiv, but on Oct. 22, a South
Microelectronics made by companies from the U.S., Switzerland, the U.K., and the Netherlands were found in the North Korean missile that was shot down over Poltava Oblast.
"We officially refute the insinuations of unnamed sources in the Bild publication regarding Ukraine's alleged plans to develop weapons of mass destruction."
The drone can help adjust artillery fire and is resistant to Russian electronic warfare means thanks to "high-tech materials," the Defense Ministry said.
Russia also launched more than 40 missiles and 400 combat drones of various types, Zelensky said in a video address posted on Telegram.
Kyiv’s efforts to secure as many resources as possible from Western allies to tip the scale of Russia's war in its favor will face a critical moment next weekend as leaders of more than 50 countries meet for the final talks on arming Ukraine before the upcoming U.S.
Thermite weapons disperse thousands of tiny pieces of molten metal burning at temperatures that exceed 2,000 degrees Celsius, which means that it can melt through some armored vehicles.
"Our priority is to develop domestic drones and long-range weapons, including ballistic missiles," Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Oct. 1 at Ukraine's second international defense industry forum.
Ukraine reportedly using two of the highly sophisticated German air defense systems.
Ukraine has developed a three-year plan for the production of drones, electronic warfare equipment and ground robotic systems, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in an interview with Lb.ua media outlet published on Sept. 24. Described as "very thorough and extensive," the document on Ukrainian manufacturing was presented during Umerov's
"Germany will not lift any restrictions. This does not depend on my personal attitude," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sept. 23, before meeting with Zelensky to discuss Ukraine's peace plan.
Ukraine hadn't received enough military aid from the foreign partners to equip "even four out of 14" Ukrainian army brigades that the country "needs to be ready," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CNN on Sept. 15.
In recent weeks, Ukraine’s hopes have been buoyed that its Western allies will finally allow their long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has been able to attack Ukraine with relative impunity from its positions behind the border, while the
Ukraine has received the 18 promised Bohdana self-propelled howitzers financed by Denmark, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced.
