Russian missiles, drones used against Ukraine contain Western guidance systems — Ukrainian official

Espreso journalist Nataliia Starepravo reported the information.

First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk outlined Russia’s vulnerable targets.

“The targets within reach of Ukraine’s strike capabilities are hit by units of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Defense Intelligence, the Special Operations Forces, and the State Border Service. These include facilities of Russia’s defense industry, their ammunition and fuel depots, and oil refineries, since the main resource filling Russia’s budget, and enabling its aggressive war against Ukraine, is, first of all, oil,” Havryliuk said.

Answering a question about security guarantees, he expressed hope that Ukraine's political leadership, especially the president, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Security and Defense Council, were working to ensure that security guarantees would provide a reliable and lasting peace in the event of a peace agreement. However, the deputy minister of defense believes Russia could hold out for quite a long time.

“In my personal assessment, no less than a year. They have significantly increased the production of weapons and strike systems, raised the level of their defense industry, and, in addition, other countries are helping them,” Havryliuk shared.

He emphasized that the sanctions imposed by European countries and the United States are not playing the role they were meant to play.

“Primarily, this is because there is no monitoring of how the countries that impose sanctions enforce them. Currently, we see that many components in the weapons used to strike Kyiv and across Ukraine, especially guidance and control systems in these missiles and drones, are manufactured in Western countries, not in Russia itself, and they provide reliable targeting and destruction of objects on our territory,” Havryliuk clarified.

He explained that Russia manages to purchase components for producing ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aerobalistic missiles through third countries.

Regarding Ukraine's Flamingo missile, Havryliuk confirmed that successful tests have been conducted.

“As for its use, that is classified information, so I cannot discuss it. But our missile program and the development of the missiles themselves are progressing quite well,” he added.

• On Wednesday evening, August 27, the Russian army launched attack drones against Ukraine. The strike in Kyiv left casualties: fifteen people were killed, including four children.
• As a result of the attack carried out by the Russian army on the night of August 28, the EU delegation and British Council buildings in Kyiv were damaged.
• On August 17, Ukrainian photojournalist Yefrem Lukatsky, who collaborates with the American news agency Associated Press, released a photo of the Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile.
• On August 25, Valerii Ryabykh, Director of Development at the information and consulting company Defense Express, reported that the first batch of Ukrainian Flamingo missiles has likely already been produced.