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Short-range artillery is no longer delivering sufficient results on the battlefield, as the expansion of the kill zone has made it increasingly vulnerable to enemy drones.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov made the remarks during a television broadcast, UATV English reports.
“Today, short-range artillery is no longer producing results on the battlefield. The situation has changed, and the kill zone has expanded. If our artillery has a range of 12, 14, or 18 kilometers, it immediately becomes vulnerable to destruction by enemy drones. That is why long-range artillery shells are needed,” Fedorov said.
He stressed the need to refocus production toward long-range munitions.
“There is the Czech Initiative that finances this area. Every day I look at a dashboard showing how many artillery rounds we fire and how many enemy targets we hit. We have all of this data, and it is fully digitized,” he said.
At the same time, Fedorov noted that production of certain components has been increased to accelerate the repair and modernization of helicopters.
“Helicopters are being re-equipped so they can shoot down more Shahed drones. This requires specific regulatory decisions — modifying helicopters, procuring equipment, and finding scarce components,” the minister explained.
He also said efforts are being made to expand maintenance facilities for F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets and to secure funding to ensure the aircraft remain operational in Ukraine.
“One recent example is that we received dozens — nearly a hundred — missiles for F-16s through an emergency process involving Canada and Brussels. The Belgian defense minister and I were on the phone late at night. He personally found an aircraft to deliver them to us,” Fedorov recalled.
The minister emphasized that the Ministry of Defense is about far more than drones alone.
“Of course, today Ukraine’s Defense Forces destroy more than 90% of enemy targets using drones. But we are talking about an entire ‘orchestra’ of weapons on the battlefield — artillery, aircraft, guided aerial bombs, multiple-launch rocket systems, and more,” Fedorov concluded.
As previously reported, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi has approved the Concept for the Development of Ukraine’s Missile Forces and Artillery.
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