Ukraine is actively pursuing the development of its own ballistic missile systems and a European anti-ballistic defense network, despite facing resistance from several nations and competition within the defense sector.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that the country continues to work on enhancing its ballistic capabilities. He emphasized that this initiative encounters significant obstacles, as the emergence of a new strong player in the arms industry raises concerns among other countries.
“I am promoting this idea, which is very complex because no one wants to have strong competitors. I am advocating for Ukrainian ballistic and anti-ballistic systems. Not only Russia, for understandable reasons, opposes Ukrainian ballistic capabilities, but other countries do as well, due to business and competition concerns. However, I believe I can advance this idea,”
said Zelensky.
In addition to ballistic systems, the President noted that Ukraine is concurrently working on establishing a European anti-ballistic system in collaboration with international partners. Sweden has emerged as one of the initial participants in this project.
“We are also promoting the idea of anti-ballistics. A European anti-ballistic system. Today, we agreed with Sweden to engage in this endeavor. They are the first of the major partners we need for anti-ballistic efforts,”
the President remarked.
Zelensky indicated that Ukraine aims to broaden its network of partners for this initiative over the summer and transition to practical work on countering ballistic threats.
“We still need a few more partners. I believe that over the summer we will be able to advance and finalize this idea. We will begin working to address this ballistic challenge,”
the Ukrainian leader added.
Ukraine is making strides in developing its ballistic capabilities and a European anti-ballistic system, facing international resistance. President Zelensky aims to expand partnerships and move forward with practical implementations over the summer.