Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has reached the capability to produce enough technologically advanced weapons to surpass Russia in the long term after a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff. He made the statement on Telegram and said the discussion centered on what the state, administrative decisions and financing must deliver to maximize Ukrainian capabilities.
Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff priorities
Zelensky said the meeting covered drones of all types, ground robotic systems, the missile program, EW systems and military equipment. He added that the review defined steps to accelerate production, testing and deployment, while thanking specialists working on Ukraine’s missile program, including effective ballistic missiles and an anti-ballistic defense system.
“I held a Staff meeting. An important achievement of our state and our weapons manufacturers is that Ukraine has reached the capability to produce such a volume of technologically advanced weapons that, in the long term, it can surpass Russia’s capabilities. Today, we focused most of our attention on this,” Zelensky said. He also said the discussion ran “from the state, from administrative decisions and financing, to maximize all types of Ukrainian capabilities and ensure deep forms of pressure on Russia, on its battlefield capacity, and on its ability to drag out the war.”
Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry
Following the Staff meeting, Zelensky instructed the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry to work with partners on additional funding for defense production. He said he expected “concrete results – agreements with partners,” and described investment in Ukrainian production as “an investment in forcing Russia towards peace.”
That instruction keeps the industrial push tied to outside money. Ukraine is asking for more funding while trying to expand the systems it can build at home, a split that shows the gap between production capacity on paper and the financing still needed to scale it.
Air defense for Ukraine
Zelensky said the meeting separately addressed the volume and timelines for delivering air defense systems. “In the coming days, the key priority across all diplomatic work, all meetings and negotiations will be air defense for Ukraine,” he said, adding that Ukraine still needs help “almost daily.”
Mykhailo Fedorov previously said negotiations on granting Ukraine licenses to produce long-range weapons, including SCALP missiles, are ongoing. Zelensky said Ukraine will continue its policy of increasing the cost of occupation for the occupiers and restricting Russia’s ability to finance the war, but the next practical step rests with the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry as they seek partners willing to put money into production.
