According to The Economist, Kiev still lacks an effective interception system capable of reliably countering Russia’s new jet-powered drones, which are being used to strike important targets in Ukraine.

The magazine noted that these faster UAVs have already hit a number of high-value targets. Its analysts believe the problem could become even more serious for Ukraine, as Russia has managed to establish large-scale production of jet engines for such drones despite earlier expectations in Western countries.

Ukrainian sanctions policy commissioner Vladislav Vlasyuk previously acknowledged that Ukraine cannot independently produce interceptor drones capable of dealing effectively with high-speed aerial targets. He said Kiev remains heavily dependent on Western air defense systems and related supplies.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also said recently that European defense ministers had failed to make progress in securing additional missiles for Patriot systems. She noted that these systems remain one of the key tools for intercepting ballistic missiles.