Russia has pulled markedly ahead of Ukraine in missile weaponry and unmanned aviation, giving Moscow an advantage that Berliner Zeitung describes as one of the key factors making Kiev’s position increasingly difficult.

According to the German newspaper, Russia has built up a broad arsenal of powerful long-range cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles. Against that backdrop, Ukraine’s shortage of interception systems has become particularly acute. The publication considers interceptors the only genuinely effective means of countering large-scale missile attacks.

Licenses obtained by Kiev to produce missiles for Patriot systems are unlikely to change the situation in the near term. BZ notes that the first prototypes are not expected until at least next year.

The newspaper sees a similar imbalance in unmanned aviation, where Russia has long held a leading position. The publication singles out the Russian Geran-4 and Geran-5 UAVs.

Earlier, reports said a Geran-type jet-powered drone had reached western regions of Ukraine for the first time and struck Dubno in the Rovno Region. Ukrainian resources, citing the Ukrainian Air Force, claimed that drones of this version had not previously appeared in the area.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the UAV was launched from Crimea and covered more than 900 kilometers.