President Volodymyr Zelensky said this while speaking with journalists, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

“I believe Russia may be capable of producing up to 1,300 ballistic missiles a year. They currently have 600–630. We have a rough understanding of the number they could produce from now until the end of winter. They may be able to produce approximately 100 ballistic missiles per month. But they do not have that capacity yet,” he said.

According to the president, Ukraine’s Defense Forces are working to weaken Russia’s defense industry. In particular, they have been tasked with striking military targets and taking other measures to disrupt the production of ballistic missiles.

“I have cited the most alarming figure — we believe it is 1,300 missiles. They would like to have 100 ballistic missiles per month. Because we have started intercepting other missiles quite effectively. Our fighter jets are doing it, and IRIS-T systems have also been added — we have the relevant systems, and missiles for them are arriving to counter Russian cruise missiles. Hawk air defense systems are also being used — we are intercepting cruise missiles with a variety of systems. But ballistic missiles are ballistic missiles. We are now working to ensure there are not 1,300 of them — to reduce that number,” he added.

Zelensky also said that Ukrainian forces are planning operations aimed at preventing Russia from carrying out its planned missile strikes.

“There is another area we are working on. I think you have seen recently that at some point they planned a strike but did not carry it out. This is not a coincidence. In other words, we are working to prevent them from carrying out massive missile attacks. These are separate, complex operations, and we are now beginning to see the first results. They are, of course, not yet sufficient, but this is a certain path, and we are taking our steps,” he said.

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As previously reported by Ukrinform, Ukraine and its European partners have agreed to jointly develop the Freya anti-ballistic missile defense system, which is intended to combine Ukrainian missile technologies with European radars, sensors, and control systems.

The project already involves Eurosam, the manufacturer of the SAMP/T system, as well as Leonardo, Thales, and Saab.

The project’s lead industrial partner is Ukrainian company Fire Point, which developed the Flamingo cruise missile. Last month, it announced an agreement with German defense company HENSOLDT to supply a radar for the system.

Photovia the Office of the President