Ukrainian missiles should have destroyed Russian supply lines long ago, but they don’t exist — Ukrainian major

Volodymyr Omelyan, Major in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, diplomat, former Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine (2016–2019), and politician, expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

“As for the Russian offensive, everything depends solely on us. The more systematic our defense, the more we will slow down the advance of Russian troops. This will shape the agenda of the Russian occupying army. They lack a clear strategy for strikes in specific directions and will try to advance wherever they can. If there’s an opportunity to attack in the Sumy region, they will press there; if there’s an opportunity in southern Ukraine, they will press there. The main problem is that the Russians have learned a lot over the years. While one can debate the effectiveness of their weapons, they have put them into serial production on state orders,” Volodymyr Omelyan explained.

Omelyan believes that Ukraine’s entire military-industrial complex should be composed of two or three companies that receive state funding and operate serial production.

“We are not doing this. This is what I have been saying for three years during this terrible war. Miracles don’t happen in a garage. Even if someone invents something very advanced there, it still needs government support to grow. This support should include long-term contracts, help buying equipment and parts, setting up production processes, and exclude specialists from being drafted. The people who work for the army and create new technology should be involved in manufacturing. Right now, we haven’t done that. We’re still proud that 200-300 companies make drones and electronic warfare systems. But, my friends, we should focus on having 2 or 3 companies that produce 1,000 units every day. Instead, we just give up and say we have problems with air defense. The real problem isn’t with missiles for air defense systems — the problem is with our thinking. The missiles should have already destroyed Russian production and supply lines, but they simply don’t exist,” he added.

• On May 28, Ukraine and Germany signed a nearly €5 billion agreement to fund the production of Ukrainian long-range weapons, strengthen air defense, and boost repair capabilities inside Ukraine.