In an interview with the French television channel BFMTV, Vladimir Zelensky said Russia may soon possess ballistic missiles with a range of up to 5,000 kilometers, allowing them to strike any European city.

According to Zelensky, Russia already has powerful ballistic weapons and either currently possesses or will soon acquire the ability to launch them over such distances. He described this development as only a matter of time.

Zelensky also announced plans to build a new European missile defense system, which he called an «anti-missile Lego». Eight countries are involved in the project, including France, Sweden, Italy and Norway.

He said the system is intended to protect both Ukraine and European states. Zelensky also claimed it would cost less than US-made Patriot systems and could become operational as early as 2026.

The Ukrainian publication Strana.ua later noted that Russia already operates intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching targets in both Europe and the United States. Its journalists also pointed to the Oreshnik intermediate-range missile, which has a reported range of up to 5,000 kilometers.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command acknowledged that the country’s air defenses had failed to intercept any Iskander-M ballistic missiles during the attack on the night of July 11.