Ukraine testing five models of jet drone interceptors – Zelensky

According to Ukrinform, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with the Financial Times.

According to the Ukrainian leader, Ukraine will be able to produce about 400 of one of the interceptor drone models by the end of October. Four other models remain in the testing stage.

Zelensky said the race to counter the Russian drones faced hurdles, including a shortage of engines for their interceptors.

"Engines [are] the key, we really import a lot of engines. There are some engines of our production, but not enough," he said.

He noted that Ukraine also faced a budget hole that was preventing the development and mass production of crucial defensive arms.

According to Zelensky, U.S.-made F-16 jets were proving effective against Russia's new jet-powered drones, but that too many of the aircraft – around half – were spending lengthy periods in Europe for repairs and maintenance. Some jets, he said, were taking so long to return that Ukraine was losing valuable time when the fighters were most needed to defend its skies.

Zelensky stressed that Kyiv wanted its western partners' help to move more maintenance work inside Ukraine, arguing that keeping the aircraft closer to the battlefield would allow them to be returned to service faster.

He criticized the U.S. and European governments for what he described as insufficient political will to force Putin to end the war, arguing that Ukraine's partners had the economic and diplomatic leverage to exert greater pressure on Moscow.

When asked whether his partners were doing all they could to help Kyiv, Zelensky said: "Not enough, of course not enough."

As reported, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are already testing four promising models of interceptor drones on the front line to counter Russian forces' jet-powered UAVs, while about ten more manufacturers are testing their own designs.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said that countries with existing agreements with Kyiv on cooperation in the drone sector could agree to gain access to Ukraine's latest technologies for countering Russia's new jet-powered drones.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine