Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday his country is now producing 40% of the weapons used on the front lines, as Kiev ramps up domestic arms manufacturing amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“Our defence industry is already manufacturing more than a thousand types of weapons: from artillery shells to missiles and long-range weapons, to our drones. Over 40% of all the weapons used at the front to defend our country are produced in Ukraine,” Zelensky said during a meeting with defence industry representatives in Kiev, according to the presidential office.
Zelensky noted that Ukraine’s growing defence sector now employs around 300,000 people and is attracting an increasing number of international partners. Domestic successes include the rapid rollout of new combat drones, artillery production and, more recently, Ukraine’s own missile systems — though currently in limited quantities.
Despite the progress, Zelensky acknowledged Ukraine remains heavily reliant on foreign arms deliveries, including tanks, armoured vehicles and advanced air defence systems.
Last week, he proposed a $15 billion deal to the US for 10 Patriot air defence systems to bolster Ukraine’s protection against Russian missile strikes.
Ukraine extends martial law, mobilization order
Ukraine has extended martial law and the mobilization order by another 90 days until the beginning of August. The two corresponding motions submitted by Zelensky received the required two-thirds majority in parliament, Ukrainian media reported on Wednesday.
Once signed by Zelensky, martial law will apply until August 6, after it was due to expire on May 9.
Former president Petro Poroshenko, who is Zelensky’s main rival, accused the government of rushing the extension through parliament, with almost one month left before the current martial law expires.
Martial law was “being used not only for the defence of the country, but also for the establishment of an authoritarian regime,” the opposition leader, who has been sanctioned by Zelensky, claimed on social media.
The Ukrainian government first imposed martial law and ordered mobilization following Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
Speculation has been rampant in recent weeks that Zelensky could call elections, which cannot be held under martial law. Conscripts aged between 18 and 60 are barred from leaving the country under the law.
Two killed in Russian strike on Dnipro
At least two people have been killed in a Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro late on Wednesday, local authorities said.
Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said a child and an elderly woman had been killed in the strike.
At least a further 16 people had been injured, including three children, Lysak wrote on Telegram.
Several fires had broken out and residential buildings had been damaged, he added.
Former governor of Russia’s Kursk region arrested
The former governor of Russia’s western Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, has been detained on suspicion of fraud, the Russian state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. His former deputy Alexei Dedov was also arrested, TASS reported.
Smirnov resigned from office in December 2024, well before the end of his term. According to media reports, the arrests followed testimony against the pair from a former senior official currently in custody for allegedly embezzling funds earmarked for regional defence fortifications.
The fortifications were constructed in 2022, shortly after President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Smirnov was appointed governor in May 2024. Just a few months later, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise counteroffensive that breached parts of the Kursk region, marking the first time the war reached Russian territory.