Norway will invest $400 million in Ukraine's defense industry to support drone and air defense missile production, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on June 22.

The announcement followed a visit to Ukraine by Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Onshuus Sandvik.

"Today, Norway’s Minister of Defense visited Ukraine. A decision has been reached to invest $400 million in our production – new funding, primarily for drones," Zelensky said.

Zelensky added that the two countries are also working together to establish joint air defense production inside Ukraine.

"We are working together to create all the necessary conditions to produce air defense systems in Ukraine — jointly with partners, jointly with Norway," Zelensky said.

He added that Norway's largest defense company – Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace – has already opened an office in Ukraine as part of the cooperation.

"We are expediting all processes to the maximum extent," Zelensky said.

On X, Norway's defense ministry confirmed that Kongsberg has signed agreement with a major Ukrainian company to jointly develop and produce missiles for air defense systems in Ukraine.

The collaboration will focus on producing missiles for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS.

"The Norwegian NASAMS system saves lives in Ukraine every day, and is crucial in protecting critical infrastructure. That is why it is important for the Norwegian Government to finance this development of cheaper missiles for the NASAMS system in Ukraine," said Minister Sandvik.

The announcement marks deepening ties between Kyiv and Oslo as Ukraine seeks to expand its domestic defense industry amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion and reduced military aid from the United States.

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The Kyiv IndependentSonya Bandouil

Ukraine is asking partner countries to allocate 0.25% of their GDP to boosting Kyiv's defense production, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 20 at a press briefing attended by the Kyiv Independent.

The president's comments come less than a week before the NATO summit in The Hague, where Zelensky will have another opportunity to discuss Ukraine's security needs with world leaders.

"Ukraine is part of Europe's security, and we want 0.25% of the GDP of a particular partner country to be allocated to our defense industry and domestic production," Zelensky said at the briefing.

Ukraine is currently in talks with Denmark, Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Lithuania on weapons development partnerships, Zelensky said.

The proposed spending target comes as Ukraine faces intensified aerial bombardments, dwindling U.S. support, and new Russian offensives. Moscow has doubled down on its maximalist ambitions in Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin insisting "all of Ukraine is ours" in remarks on June 20.

At the same time, Ukraine has demonstrated its ability to strike back at the aggressor state using its own domestically produced weapons. Operation Spiderweb, a mass attack on four key military airfields in Russia, was carried out entirely with Ukrainian drones.

Ukraine has been ramping up its defense production since the full-scale invasion in 2022. Support from Western allies has been critical to that effort, as Kyiv's defense budget does not match the capacities of domestic weapons production.

Denmark pioneered a new model of defense support when it became the first country to offer donate arms to Ukraine via direct purchases from the Ukrainian defense industry. Zelensky has said he wants other NATO members to purchase weapons from Ukraine under the Danish model.

Increased defense spending is the main item on the agenda at the upcoming NATO summit. The United States has backed a proposal to raise the spending target from the current 2% to 5% GDP.

While thus far only Spain has rejected the proposal outright, most NATO members have remained noncommittal. Poland, the Netherlands, and Sweden have expressed willingness to consider the 5% target.

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The Kyiv IndependentLinda Hourani

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 20 that Ukraine is rapidly developing interceptor drones to defend against increasingly frequent Russian drone attacks.

In his nightly address, Zelensky said the new drones would help strengthen Ukraine's defenses against Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which Russia has been deploying in growing numbers in recent weeks.

"We are... making separate efforts on interceptor drones, which must strengthen our defense against Shahed attacks," he said, adding that Ukraine's domestic drone production is "already delivering results."

Zelensky also noted that "production volumes of interceptors are already increasing."

Russian drone strikes across Ukraine have been breaking records in recent weeks, with nearly 500 drones and missiles launched overnight on June 9 – highlighting the urgent need for effective countermeasures.

To support Kyiv's defense industry, Zelensky said that Ukraine is working with international partners to secure additional funding and is preparing new agreements ahead of next week’s NATO summit.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has focused heavily on developing and deploying advanced unmanned systems. As of April 2025, more than 95% of drones used by Ukrainian forces on the front line are domestically produced.

Both Ukraine and Russia have increasingly relied on drone warfare, employing aerial, naval, and ground-based drones for reconnaissance and combat operations – making technological innovation a critical component of the war.

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The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat

Ukraine’s domestically developed short-range Sapsan ballistic missile has successfully completed combat testing and is in the process of serial production, Ukrainian media reported on June 13.

The missile, with a payload of 480 kg, completed testing in May after successfully striking a Russian military target at a range of nearly 300 km, Valentyn Badrak, head of the an independent Ukrainian think Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies told Liga.net.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry reportedly dedicated a department to formulate and test the missile.

There is no reported timeline as to when the missiles can be seen in regular use on the battlefield.

Domestically produced long-range weapons are of key importance to Ukraine's defense strategy, as Western partners have been slow in delivering adequate weaponry amid increasing Russian attacks and offensives.

The news comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a congressional hearing on June 10 that the United States will reduce funding allocated for military assistance to Ukraine in its upcoming defense budget

In November 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine has produced its first 100 missiles.

Since then, Ukraine has continued to increase domestic weapon production. Zelensky said on April 16 that over 40% of the weapons used at the front line are now produced in Ukraine, including over 95% of drones used at front line.

Zelensky also previously revealed that Ukraine had developed another domestic-made weapon, a missile-drone Palianytsia.

As Ukraine attempt to increase its defense production, Russia has continued to unleash large-scale attacks on Ukrainian cities, regularly launching hundreds of drones to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.

Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) shared with the Kyiv Independent that Russia's production of ballistic missiles has increased by at least 66% over the past year.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in late 2024 that Ukraine also resumed and scaled up serial production of Neptune cruise missiles, modifying them to have a greater range.

Kyiv has received a number of long-range missiles from partners, such as U.S.-made ATACMS, British Storm Shadow, or French SCALP/T. Despite Ukrainian requests, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on June 12 that Berlin has no plans to provide Taurus long-range missiles to Kyiv.

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The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy