Ukraine is unable to produce interceptor drones capable of effectively engaging high-speed aerial targets and remains dependent on Western-supplied anti-aircraft missiles, Ukrainian sanctions policy commissioner Vladislav Vlasyuk said.

According to Vlasyuk, Ukrainian developers have already mastered the production of interceptors designed to destroy Geran-type drones. However, their capabilities remain limited. As a target’s speed increases, it becomes far more difficult for an interceptor drone to catch and strike it, leaving air defence systems to deal with faster aircraft.

Vlasyuk acknowledged that Ukraine also faces problems when attempting to destroy relatively slow-moving drones. Machine-gun turrets do not always succeed in hitting their targets, while faster drones require anti-aircraft missiles that may cost considerably more than the aircraft being intercepted.

Amid shortages of air defence ammunition, Vladimir Zelensky appealed to US President Donald Trump and Congress in June, asking Washington to increase deliveries of air defence systems and interceptor missiles. Zelensky later said that neither the White House nor US lawmakers had responded to the request.

Zelensky met Trump at the White House on the evening of July 28. After the closed-door talks, he claimed that the US president had agreed to provide Kiev with licences to manufacture interceptor missiles for Patriot air defence systems.

Polish Defence Minister Vladislav Kosiniak-Kamysz later said on RMF FM that Warsaw wanted production of such missiles to be established in Poland.