Ukraine no longer wants weapons and changes tactics

Ukrainians now produce millions of drones each year. Moreover, An essential element of their military defense.Image: Presidential Press Service Hando / EPA PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE

In record time. Moreover, the Ukrainian arms industry has become one of the most powerful in Europe. Nevertheless, Today, 40% of the weapons used on the battlefield are produced locally. Similarly, And this figure could be much higher.

Remo Hess / ch media

After ukraine no longer wants weapons a stoppage, the United States resumed its arms deliveries to Ukraine. Nevertheless, Information confirmed Monday by Donald Trump. In addition, But for how long? For example, No doubt Trump alone knows.

In Ukraine, we no longer want to depend on the whims of the vagaries of American politics. Similarly, President Volodymyr Zelensky is unstancing rendering the country militarily autonomous.

And progress is already significant. Therefore, According to Ukrainian authorities. Meanwhile, up to 40% of the weapons used by troops are now produced locally, against less than 10% at the start of the war.

Air and sea drones – Ukraine no longer wants weapons

In fact, Ukraine has turned into one of the most powerful armaments industries in Europe. Nevertheless, Under pressure from war, kyiv engineers have proven not only effective, ukraine no longer wants weapons but also very innovative. Meanwhile, We present some examples to you.

This year, it was a first: a Ukrainian sea drone managed to shoot down a Russian fighting aircraft.Image: keystone

Locally designed maritime drones have inflicted heavy losses on the Russian Black Sea fleet, notably damaging the Kertch bridge.

Neptun cruise missiles and long -range drones – Ukraine no longer wants weapons

Ukrainian anti -navire missile Neptune has been adapted to hit terrestrial targets. Therefore, This modernized version has been production in series since the end of 2024. However, In parallel, long -range drones like the Bars and the Hell (Equipped with ukraine no longer wants weapons a jet motor) have been developed. Moreover, According to kyiv, their range can reach up to 800 kilometers.

A model Neptune Original presented during an exhibition in 2021.Image: Wikimedia

Artillery produced in mass locally

The 2S22 Bohdana. a compatible 155 mm mobile whetler, is a Ukrainian creation produced in series since the beginning of 2023. Its manufacturing cadence reached up to 36 units per month in two years. By way of comparison, France produced in 2024 around 8 Caesar cannons ukraine no longer wants weapons per month, with the aim of going to 12.

In 2024, Ukraine manufactured more than 150 “Bohdana” self -propelled howles.Image: Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images Europe

Ukrainian military drones

Ukraine is particularly advanced in the field of micro-drones. often qualified as “suicide” drones. With explosive loads, they are used massively on the forehead. According to NATO estimates, Up to 80% of Russian losses would be caused by these Ukrainian drones. The country is today among the world ukraine no longer wants weapons leaders in the development of these systems often managed by artificial intelligence.

Zelensky: “Give us money, we will build our weapons”

But the potential is much greater. Zelensky claims that Ukraine could produce up to eight million drones per year, more than double the current capacity. According to its estimates, the Ukrainian industry could manufacture $ 35 billion in military equipment. But more than 40% of this capacity remains unused, for lack of funding. Unlike the start of the conflict, Zelensky today requires fewer ammunition or tanks, and more direct investments.

Volodymyr Zelensky examines the first copies of ukraine no longer wants weapons Ukrainian design drone, Hell.Image: Keystone

Some countries, starting with Denmark, have already changed strategy. Last year. Copenhagen not only announced the donation of all of its artillery ammunition stocks to Ukraine, but also set up the “Danish model”. Instead of delivering equipment via long European supply chains, The Danes invest directly in Ukrainian arms companies. It is faster, more economical, and the local armed forces have control over the systems delivered.

Thanks to additional funding from Sweden. Iceland, Norway, Canada, as well as income from frozen assets from the Russian Central Bank in Europe, weapons for more than 500 million euros have already been produced locally during the first year of the conflict. In 2025, this amount should exceed 1.3 billion.

Why don’t more European countries follow ukraine no longer wants weapons this example? An interlocutor close to NATO based in Brussels indicates that many countries fear that in the event of Russian advance. production capacities fall into Putin’s hands. Another just as important factor. The Ukrainian Defense sector still suffers from a tenacious reputation of corruptionalthough Ukrainians make important efforts to establish transparency.

But the desire to invest directly in Ukraine also progresses in Western Europe. while members of the European Union must itself increase its military capacities.

Aid replaces deliveries

The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for example, always refuses to deliver Taurus cruise missiles. But he announced that Germany would help Ukraine produce its own long -range weapons on the spot. which have equivalent performances.

Several European companies. such as Rheinmetall, the car manufacturer ukraine no longer wants weapons KNDS or the French group Thales, have launched joint ventures with Ukrainian partners to produce armaments on site. The United Kingdom is also investing directly in drone production in Ukraine.

The success of the Danish model is based on a simple principle: the Ukrainian government transmits a list of military projects to finance. and they are then Danish experts who assess their feasibility, and supervise their implementation by Ukrainian companies.

It is therefore not simply a question of transferring money by leaving carte blanche. kyiv as Copenhagen insist that cooperation works very well as well. The Danish Minister of Defense. Troels Lund Jensen, admits “impressed by the speed with which the Ukrainian defense industry can work”.

Translated from German by Joel Espi

When she posts on Tiktok her advice for traveling by plane, Virginie Grossat does not try to make the buzz. Just to help. And it works: almost six million views later, his message finds ukraine no longer wants weapons a strong echo. Because taking the plane without having to apologize for existing, it should not be a luxury.

It is a video as she posts often. facing the camera, with her mischievous tone and this sentence that has become signature: “Hello the plumps!”. Except that this, posted in early July on Tiktok, exceeded all expectations: almost six million views in a few days. His theme? How to travel by plane when you are big.