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Ukraine is strengthening its defenses against Russian drones and missiles every day and is preparing new contracts for air defense systems and missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on October 5.
Following a meeting with Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, Defense Minister, Infrastructure Minister and Ukraine’s military leadership, Zelenskyy said the country was increasing its level of protection, including through gun turrets, specialized groups to intercept Shahed drones and new interceptor systems. He added that funding for the relevant tasks had been secured.
“We are preparing new contracts for air defense systems and air defense missiles. There are no public details yet, but there could be some good steps,” Zelenskyy said.
The president also called on Ukraine’s international partners to provide more systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, saying they were particularly needed to protect critical infrastructure.
“We need more ballistic missile defense to protect infrastructure. This is the main challenge right now,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy said Russia was showing no intention of moving from escalation to negotiations, adding that international leaders could see the situation.
The announcement comes as Ukraine faces an intensified Russian campaign involving increasingly frequent attacks by jet-powered drones. Ukraine is developing new interceptor drones and expanding other systems designed to counter the faster targets.
Germany has also recently announced additional military assistance for Ukraine, including air defense equipment and interceptor drones, while German and Ukrainian companies signed agreements covering radar systems, air defense missiles and drone interceptors.
