Ukraine is developing its own long-range missiles

Ukraine is working on developing its own long-range missile capabilities and is investing in a new program according to a statement made by the country’s Minister of Defense. 

Oleksii Reznikov explained during a public discussion on rebuilding the country that he believed Ukraine was well-positioned for manufacturing its own long-range missiles. 

“We have an approved missile program. Funds have already been officially allocated from the budget for it," Reznikov said according to an English translation from Militarnyi.

Reznikov went on to say that the companies working on the program and producing the long-range missiles for the country would be one hundred percent Ukrainian industry. 

The Ukrainian Minister of Defense also noted that the long-range missiles would be able to reach a distance of 1000 kilometers (1600 miles) or further, ranges Kyiv can’t hit now.

Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking his Western allies to supply Ukraine with missiles that could hit longer-range targets for most of the war, yet few have sent the weapons.

The worry would be that supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces with weapons that could be used in an offensive capacity against Russia might spark escalation from Moscow. 

In September, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles was a red line that would deepen the conflict further. 

“If Washington decides to supply longer-range missiles to Kyiv, then it will be crossing a red line, and will become a direct party to the conflict,” Zakharova said in a statement according to NBC News.  

British authorities ignored such warnings from Russia and were the first nation to supply Kyiv with longer-range weapons, giving Ukraine their vaunted Storm Shadow missile. 

The Atlantic Council noted Storm Shadow missiles would allow Ukraine to attack Russia deep inside the occupied territories, striking at command posts and ammunition dumps. 

So far the assumptions from the Atlantic Council have proved true and Ukraine has hit a number of important targets with Russia saying Kyiv used the British missiles to destroy a polymer production plant and a meat processing facility in Luhansk Reuters reported.  

"Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied to the Kyiv regime by Britain were used for the strike, contrary to London's statements that these weapons would not be used against civilian targets," Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed in a mid-May statement.

The destructive power of long-range missiles coupled with the world’s unwillingness to dole them out to the embattled nation may be why officials in Ukraine have taken it upon themselves to be working on producing their own capabilities at home. 

Defense Minister Reznikov mentioned the weariness of Ukraine’s Western partners as well as their concern about escalation during his talk on how to rebuild Ukraine, noting it took a lot of convincing to get their allies to provide him with Harpoon anti-ship missiles. 

“I strongly convinced them to give us Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which were supposed to protect our coast of Odessa and port hubs,” Reznikov said according to Militarnyi. 

“When we hit the cruiser Moskva with Neptune anti-ship missiles, a week later it was decided to give us Harpoon missiles,” Ukraine’s Defense Minister went on to explain. 

Reznikov added that he believed as soon as Ukrainian long-range missiles started to hit Russian targets at distances of 200, 300, and 400 kilometers their Western allies would start supplying their missiles. “I am sure that ATACMS and the rest will appear,” he said. 

The United States has so far refused to send long-range missiles to Kyiv but pressure is mounting on the Biden administration with Politico noting lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to see American long-range munitions in the hands of the Ukrainians.

“The war in Ukraine has become a conflict of grinding attrition. We can and must help break this stalemate,” a group of bipartisan lawmakers wrote in a letter on June 8th. 

“By swiftly providing the Ukrainian forces with these additional capabilities, we can significantly improve their chances of victory, restore peace to Europe, and ensure a more stable and prosperous world,” the lawmakers added. 

No decision on long-range missiles from the United States has been made yet, so Kyiv will have to continue to work on developing its own capabilities in the meantime if it wants to be able to hit back at Russia in the same ways Moscow has hit Ukraine.