Zelensky announced new drones and missiles against jet-powered Shaheds

Ukraine is developing new high-speed interceptor drones and cheap missiles to counter jet-powered attack drones, the production of which Russia is ramping up. Prototypes of Ukrainian interceptors have already been created, and they are now being refined to the required level of effectiveness.

This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky after a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff.

One of the main issues of the meeting was accelerating the development and production of means to counter new Russian drones.

According to the president, Ukraine already has manufacturers capable of fulfilling this task. The developed prototypes must undergo further refinement, after which the key issue will be scaling up their production.

Separately, the Staff discussed involving private business in the production, supply, and adjustment of certain types of air defense systems.

The comprehensive task, according to Zelensky, is to bring the Ukrainian defense industry and cooperation with partners to a level that will ensure a sufficient number of high-speed interceptor drones and cheaper missiles.

Such means should be used against the new high-speed attack drones that Russia is increasingly using during attacks on Ukrainian cities. Kyiv hopes to develop two directions simultaneously: faster unmanned interceptors and relatively inexpensive missiles suitable for mass use.

Zelensky noted that Ukrainian intelligence has information about Russian plans for further development and use of such means of attack. Therefore, the necessary resources, according to him, are being directed to create an appropriate response.

The president also said that Ukraine plans to act not only in defense. According to him, relevant asymmetric operations have already been approved, but he did not provide details.

The urgency of developing new interceptors has sharply increased against the background of the growing number of jet-powered drones in Russian attacks. On the night of September 3, Russia used 163 attack UAVs of various types against Ukraine, and, according to the Air Force, about half of the launched Shaheds were jet-powered. Ukrainian air defense shot down or suppressed 135 aerial targets.

Work on cheap interception means has been ongoing for several months. Earlier, Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov reported that Ukraine is testing inexpensive missiles to destroy Shaheds and intends to significantly increase their production scale. He named one of the project's tasks as preparing specifically for Russia's mass use of jet-powered modifications of attack drones.