Ukraine will in any case deploy long-range weapons – General Musayev

That’s the assessment of Alnur Musayev, a former head of Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (1999–2001), Soviet and Kazakh intelligence official, now an opposition figure and political exile. He shared his view in an interview with Antin Borkovskyi on Espreso TV.

“The offensive continues — we clearly understand this. Fighting is ongoing in eastern Ukraine, in the Donbas, and in the north near Sumy, where Russia has gained a foothold. There are also attempts to advance toward Zaporizhzhia — we are witnessing all this.

According to military experts, the Russian army is preparing a strike that may come in just over two months. Putin has no real strategy — he’s trying to use the 50 days he begged from Trump. But even within that timeframe, the situation will change,” Musayev said.

What gives him hope, Musayev added, is that Ukraine is now actively moving toward the use of long-range weapons.

“German sources, especially Rheinmetall, report that long-range missiles are being produced on Ukrainian territory. So, long-range capability is coming.”

He also emphasized that Ukraine has already begun mass-producing drones, and the U.S. is expected to supply ammunition. In his view, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have a real chance of repelling Russia’s summer offensive.

“It’s highly unlikely that Putin can fully seize regions like Kherson or Zaporizhzhia, or resolve his issues in Donetsk.

So it’s nearly impossible to speak of any clear strategy from him. This is a prolonged, unfortunately drawn-out war with shifting momentum — and it will continue as long as Trump sits there, pretending to help both Ukraine and Putin.

If he really wants to stop the bloodshed, he must stop the aggressor. And the U.S. has every means to do so,” Musayev stressed.

• On June 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would jointly produce long-range drones and missiles with Denmark.
• On July 12, German General Christian Freuding, head of the Ukraine coordination cell at the German Defense Ministry, confirmed that Ukraine would receive the first batches of long-range missiles from Germany by the end of July.