Why Ukrainian missiles are matter of survival

Russia has purposefully chosen a tactic of terrorizing the civilian population, and it’s time to seriously discuss whether we can improve our chances of survival. 

No, no one in the world has yet invented air defense systems that shoot down 100% of targets. The military conflict between Israel and Iran shows that even their cities can’t cope—though, let’s be honest, both sides there teach math in schools and haven’t destroyed their engineering sectors.

The biggest blow to Ukrainian cities comes from the Iranian-made Shahed drones, but since the invention of mobile fire groups in autumn 2022 to counter them, we still haven’t implemented this solution.

Our military experts have come up with several ways to counter this threat, but so far, these solutions haven’t been scaled or put into serial production. This is the direct responsibility of our top officials, the ministers of strategic industries, and the esteemed Mr. Rustem Umerov, who is increasingly taking on the functions of the foreign minister.

However, over the past year, the President’s Office has been busy removing people not loyal to them from the Ministry of Defense, so it’s no surprise that our defense procurement is very modest.

It got to the point that only after a public interview with the commander of the Third Assault Brigade, Andrii Biletskyi, who said that the 3rd Assault Brigade hadn’t received a single FPV drone from the state in three months, did officials start to react. 

Only in May did President Volodymyr Zelenskyy state that Ukraine needs $30 billion to launch production at full capacity—and here we realize that budget money would be better spent not on national cashback programs or yet another attempt to buy Russian nuclear reactors from Bulgaria.

“Where are our missiles?” “When will there be Ukrainian analogues of the Shaheds?”—these questions are getting louder and more urgent. We see Donald Trump slipping into either senility or outright malice. We hear the frank and rather cynical words of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, that a ceasefire in Ukraine would allow Russia to stockpile weapons and increase risks for NATO. 

Meanwhile, Hungarian and Slovak friends of Putin, and sometimes even unscrupulous Polish politicians, are stoking hatred toward Ukraine. As if Ukraine is the biggest threat—not the torture chambers of Russian occupiers in any residential complex in Eastern Europe, but, oh gods, Ukraine in the EU. 

What’s more, our farmers know how to work not just without subsidies from Brussels, but in mined fields, with some tractor drivers having swapped their John Deeres for armored vehicles.

We have no friends, only situational allies. While the U.S. is searching for itself in a new decade, our goal is to get American weapons, even if we have to pay for them. 

Next, we must walk the fine line between our officials’ desire to steal and flee to the Spanish subtropics, and the fight for independence. Because, you know, it’s not a good look when Danish and German officials ask if it’s possible to steal a little less on arms procurement. We’ve reached a sad point where populism and the desire to have only one winner in this war are hurting our developments and reducing our capacities, which the Russians haven’t yet destroyed. Ultimately, this is a real conversation about national unity and resilience.

Producing our own drones, anti-aircraft missile systems, and missiles is the number one priority for the state. This is the crucial strength for a country that wants to defend itself and be armed like a porcupine, as EU leader Ursula von der Leyen has hinted more than once recently.

Having our own missiles means we don’t have to ask anyone for permission or beg for the right to strike first. With them, no man will lecture you about “controlled escalation,” and tomorrow, another batch of his successors won’t try to convince you to sign a capitulation because they desperately need a “business deal” with their good friend Vladimir.

Ukrainian-made missiles mean regular strikes on Russian railways, logistics hubs, airfields, and the energy network, which is actually much more fragile than ours. The Russians understand this, which is why they’ve already launched their best ballistic missiles dozens of times at well-known centers in Kyiv and Dnipro. Their goal is not only to destroy our developments but also the changes that are being made against all odds.

When people say Ukrainian missiles are impossible, let’s remember how Hamas digs up pipes in the desert and turns them into rockets that have been hitting Israel since 2021. There’s money for this, because despite proof and numerous TikTok videos, the EU hasn’t stopped its funding programs for water pipelines, and in the last ten years alone, has allocated 100 million euros for infrastructure in areas controlled by Hamas.

Let’s ask bluntly: why can medieval, bearded thugs make rockets, but we—a country whose engineers contributed greatly to the USSR’s fame as a space and nuclear superpower—are lagging behind?

Back at the end of 2024, Zelenskyy gave a personal order that manufacturers must produce at least 30,000 long-range drones and at least 3,000 cruise missiles and missile-drones.

Well, it’s time to fulfill that promise. Because the president and his circle may soon have no electoral districts left for their political careers—let me remind you, the enemy is already at the approaches to Dnipropetrovsk region.

Exclusively for Espreso

About the author: Maryna Danyliuk-Yarmolaieva, journalist.

The editorial board doesn't always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.