Ukraine has become a drone superpower, producing about 4 million unmanned aerial vehicles of various types each year. For comparison, some estimates put US military drone production at roughly 100,000 units per year, Bloomberg reports. 

Ukraine’s drone era began with Turkish Bayraktar TB2s. Ukraine purchased its first Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles in 2019. These drones have significantly strengthened the capabilities of Kyiv's forces since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war. Today, Ukraine produces most of its drones itself with the support of its allies. 

Ukraine's drone variety exceeds NATO arsenals

Now, Ukrainian companies, facing acute funding shortages, are eager to share their drone expertise and create safer production lines aimed at European armies that want to stockpile weapons.

“It’s not just the quantity of drones, it’s the variety. Probably more than all NATO countries combined right now," said RAND analyst Michael Bohnert.

That variety includes long-range strike drones, as well as inexpensive first-person-view (FPV) attack drones.

Increasingly, Ukrainian air defenses are also using interceptor drones. Ukraine and the UK plan to begin joint production of such drones in the coming months to counter swarms of Russian drones.

FlyWell wants $50 million to manufacture drones on European soil

• Some Ukrainian drone makers have already entered the EU market. For example, Skyeton opened a facility in Slovakia and has announced partnerships with Denmark and the UK. The company produces reconnaissance UAVs capable of flying for up to 24 hours.
• Another Ukrainian firm, TSIR, is now operating in Finland and is preparing to launch a production line for tactical quadcopters that can cover up to 15 kilometers and are used for reconnaissance and strikes along the front line, in a joint venture with Finnish partner Summa Defence Plc.
• FlyWell brings together several Ukrainian companies that produce aerial, ground, and maritime drones intended for reconnaissance and strikes on Russian targets from the front line to ranges of up to 2,000 kilometers. FlyWell plans to raise about $50 million to fund European manufacturing and R&D projects.

Currently, Summa Defence is self-funding production and has already created prototypes of three models that could enter mass production immediately after testing in Ukraine, CEO Yussi Holopainen said. Some of the output is intended for NATO countries, but Ukraine remains the priority.

Offices in Berlin and Copenhagen

Denmark allocated nearly $77 million this year to help Ukrainian arms manufacturers establish operations on its territory. The first project is expected to begin producing rocket fuel this year for Fire Point, a Ukrainian company developing the Flamingo cruise missile with a range of 3,000 kilometers.

Ukraine plans to open offices in Berlin and Copenhagen this year to market weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 3 November. This is about joint production and the export of weapons that Ukraine can afford to sell in order to raise funds for domestic production of scarce items that Kyiv currently lacks funding for.

The ratio of Russia’s use of ballistic missiles with 480 kg warheads to cruise missiles has increased in 2025 compared to previous years. Additionally, the Russians are refining their deployment methods for Iskander-M systems, which are capable of destroying residential buildings, making it more difficult for Patriot systems to intercept them, according to RBC-Ukraine.

The missile subtly changes course while the battery tries to keep up automatically

This challenge is compounded by the fact that the Iskander-M missile can make minor course adjustments as it approaches its target.

As Yurii Ihnat, Head of Communications for the Air Force Command, has noted that the Patriot system intercepts ballistic missiles automatically, which makes it harder to determine the precise moment to engage a maneuvering missile.

Ballistic missiles make sharp trajectory changes

Russian occupiers have also begun using Iskander-M more frequently and from multiple directions, often combining them with other tools, such as drones and cruise missiles.

“This, in turn, makes them even harder to intercept. A Patriot battery during an attack can only 'look' in one direction. It cannot engage targets 360 degrees around it,” the military official added.

Despite these challenges, Patriot systems continue to operate effectively, achieving confirmed interceptions of both Iskanders and Kinzhal missiles.

The UK has quietly delivered a new batch of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. The resupply was timed ahead of winter, with British officials fearing Russia will escalate attacks on Ukrainian civilians in the coming months.

UK sends more Storm Shadows without announcing how many

People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the UK government recently provided Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles. The exact number of missiles remains undisclosed, and the delivery was not publicly announced. Officials described the move as a precaution, aimed at ensuring Ukraine’s long-range capabilities are maintained through winter, when the Kremlin may intensify its assault on civilian infrastructure.

Storm Shadows are British-made, air-launched cruise missiles with a range of over 250 kilometers. They use inertial and terrain-reference navigation combined with GPS and are designed to fly low and fast, making them difficult to intercept. The UK does not regularly confirm how many Storm Shadows it has provided to Ukraine.

Storm Shadow strikes inside Russia resumed recently

In October, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Storm Shadow missiles were used in a large-scale strike that successfully penetrated Russian air defenses and hit a chemical plant inside Russia. That was the first confirmed use of the missile inside Russian territory since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.

Ukraine first launched Storm Shadows into Russia in November last year, just a day after it used US-provided ATACMS missiles for the first time. The British weapons require US targeting data to reach their full potential. 

Barracuda-500 opens up a new 900 km strike potential for Poland. Manufacturing these missiles would theoretically allow Warsaw to reach Moscow, writes military portal Defence Express.

“The presence of Barracuda-500 in the Polish military’s arsenal would theoretically allow them to strike even Moscow, which lies roughly 900 km from the state border,” the analysts say. 

Can Barracuda-500 production spread fast? 

For now, the discussion concerns producing these missiles only for Poland’s own needs, and does not even touch on the possibility of supplying them to Ukraine, although that scenario is entirely realistic.

In addition, the US Air Force also wants to purchase more than 3,000 Barracuda-500 missiles.

“Ukraine had already expressed interest in the Barracuda-500, which is intended to replace or complement the Tomahawk,” the experts explain.

The missiles were first revealed in autumn 2024, and since then, production has also been rolled out in Taiwan.

“Therefore, looking ahead, it is quite possible that Barracuda-500 production could be established in Ukraine in a relatively short time,” the experts believe. 

The cheap missile ready to strike from fighters or transport planes

“The price of one Barracuda-500 is estimated at $216,500, which is very low for a cruise missile," the experts added. 

Barracuda missiles can be launched from airborne platforms such as the F-15E, F-18E/F, and F-16, and also from any transport aircraft, even an An-26, on Rapid Dragon pallets.

Russia's nuclear threats continue. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on tests of the unlimited-range nuclear-powered cruise missile "Burevestnik" conducted on 21 October, UNIAN reports. 

Putin states that Burevestnik can fly 14,000 kilometers

Putin stated that Russia’s nuclear forces “are at the highest level in the world” and boasted about tests of the “unique” nuclear-powered missile Burevestnik. He made the statements during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and the commanders of military formations.

According to him, the missile traveled 14,000 kilometers and remained in the air for about 15 hours. He also claimed that Burevestnik demonstrated the ability to evade missile defense systems.

“Technical characteristics of the missile allow it to be used with guaranteed accuracy against heavily protected targets at any distance,” Gerasimov said.

Commenting on the tests, Putin added that this is a “unique weapon that no one else in the world possesses.”

He also stated that the missile tests are complete and the key objectives of the tests have been achieved.

“We need to determine possible methods of deployment and start preparing the infrastructure to integrate this weapon into our armed forces,” said the Russian president.

Dmitriev in the US: Details on Burevestnik tests was conveyed to the US administration 

Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, stated during the visit to the US that “the security of the whole world” depends on peaceful US–Russia relations and warned the Trump administration about “complete annihilation of humanity."

He also mentioned the nuclear drills held on 21-22 October, RBC reports. During the drills, Russia launched a Yars ballistic missile toward the US. This missile can also carry a nuclear warhead. 

Russia casts the shadow of a nuclear war on the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin began nuclear exercises on 22 October, which included launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, Newsweek reports.

Russia’s nuclear triad operates at full power

According to a statement published by the Russian state news agency RIA on Telegram, all Russian nuclear triads—land-based, sea-based, and air-based—participated in the exercises.

During the drills, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) “Yars” was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, while strategic Tu-95MS bombers conducted strikes with air-launched cruise missiles.

A strategic submarine cruiser also launched a ballistic missile from the Barents Sea.

“The exercises tested the level of preparedness of the military command and the practical skills of operational personnel in organizing the management of subordinate forces,” the Kremlin statement said.

Nuclear tension rises as peace talks on Ukraine hang in the balance 

According to AP News, the meeting in Budapest was postponed following a statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Rubio said the meeting “is unlikely to yield positive results in peace negotiations,” as Russia has not demonstrated readiness to make concessions or even discuss compromise conditions.

Earlier, Trump announced plans to meet with Putin in Budapest to talk over conditions for ending the war after pressure regarding potential Tomahawk supplies to Ukraine. However, these announced intentions were insufficient for Moscow to overlook the “root causes of the war,” which is simply the existence of Ukraine as an independent state, which Lavrov reminded them of after the call.

Moscow pushes the security to the edge

That these exercises were clearly aimed at influencing Trump is evidenced by statements from the Russian Foreign Ministry, claiming that “the hostile policies of NATO countries could lead to a head-on collision of nuclear states.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Moscow must ensure the resilience of Washington’s rejection of the extremely hostile anti-Russian course of the previous US administration, TASS reported. 

“We… must make sure… of Washington’s readiness to work on eliminating the root causes of the current Russia–West crisis,” he said.

Ryabkov also said that “calls for nuclear disarmament without considering the current military-political situation are completely unrealistic.”

“In the event that the US rejects the Russian initiative on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the nuclear threat will increase, but Russia will undoubtedly ensure its own security,” Ryabkov added.

Putin made statements regarding the new nuclear treaty in September and October 2025. Specifically, on 22 September 2025, at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, he declared Russia’s readiness to continue adhering to the treaty's main quantitative limits for one more year after its official expiration on 5 February 2026.

He added that this will be possible if the US “acts in a similar manner and does not take steps that undermine or violate the existing balance of deterrence potential.”