KYIV — Nearly 60 percent of the weapons in the hands of Ukrainian troops are now made inside the country, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, underscoring a wartime shift toward self-reliance in defense production that Kyiv sees as essential for survival.
“During this war, Ukraine has reached the point where nearly 60 percent of the weapons we have, the weapons in the hands of our soldiers, are Ukrainian-made,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “And these are powerful weapons, with many advanced features.”
The figure is striking: it surpasses a benchmark Zelensky himself set in July, when he urged his government to push domestic production above 50 percent. At that time, officials said homegrown arms already accounted for about half of the military’s arsenal — the highest share since Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
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The rapid climb reflects a broader recalibration. Facing the uncertainty of foreign aid and the sheer intensity of Russia’s campaign, Ukraine has poured resources into its own factories, with an emphasis on drones and air defense systems. Officials say new fleets of unmanned aerial vehicles, including interceptors designed to counter Russian drones and missiles, have become cost-effective answers to Moscow’s relentless barrages.
Zelensky also pointed to cooperation abroad, highlighting a joint production project with Denmark as part of a broader effort to embed Ukraine’s defense industry into European supply chains.
The push for self-sufficiency is as much political as military. With U.S. and European assistance increasingly entangled in domestic debates, Kyiv’s ability to show that it can arm itself is seen as a hedge against donor fatigue.
Still, challenges remain. Scaling production under wartime conditions — with factories vulnerable to attack, supply chains strained, and skilled labor diverted to the front — is far from straightforward. Yet the government insists the progress is real.
For Zelensky, the message is also one of resilience. “These weapons,” he said, “are not only symbols of our ingenuity but of our independence.”