Ukraine has already designed and possesses limited numbers of its own long-range missiles able to fly up to 1,000 kilometers, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, revealed speaking in an interview with Channel 24.
However, he emphasized there was a need for substantial financial investments to support sufficient production capacity.
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According to Podolyak, it has become obvious that the Ukrainian Armed Forces need advanced missile weaponry if it is to be able to effectively target Russian logistics lines.
Ukraine now acknowledges that it must scale up its levels of missile production to allow it to reach a level of parity close to that of Russia. Consequently, Ukraine’s government has made it a priority.
“If we want to have parity, we need not only drone production but rocket production. And we have already tested experimental samples with a range of 750-1,000 kilometers,” Podolyak said.
He acknowledged this was a major challenge, noting that to achieve that would require the construction of thousands of missiles within a few months, which is not feasible. According to him, however, Kyiv, is actively investing in missile production with the aim of meeting this objective.
“Ukraine cannot build, for example, a thousand missiles or two thousand missiles in six months. But there is production, we are investing in it all. The state is working on this,” the adviser said.
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 2, 2024
Podolyak disclosed that Ukraine is also committed to investing in the production of various types of drone, including those with enhanced destruction capabilities and longer range.
This is not a new development. Since 2013 the Pivdenne Design Office, for instance has been developing tactical ballistic missile systems, such as the “Grom 2” and its predecessor the “Sapsan”, the latest versions of which are believed to have a range of around 500 kilometers. Similarly, Ukraine has already deployed repurposed Neptune antiship missiles with a range of around 300 kilometers and is said to be working on the “Korshun” cruise missile, which is expected to have a capability in excess of 1,000 kilometers.
If and when these are brought in to large scale production the balance in missile capability will begin to swing in Ukraine’s favor.
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