Ukraine builds additional defense line in Zaporizhia, increases investment in homemade weapons

War information

Ukraine claims to have shot down a series of Russian UAVs . The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched four missiles and 12 Shahed UAVs into eastern Ukraine.

According to Ukraine, the country's military shot down 9 UAVs among the Russian drones and missiles that attacked Ukrainian territory in the past day in 4 different areas.

“ Russia has launched a sustained campaign of airstrikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the past week. Moscow’s attacks have caused significant damage in several areas, causing Kiev to worry that it will seriously affect energy supplies across Ukraine ,” the Ukrainian military said.

The Russia-Ukraine war remains tense on all fronts. Photo: RIA Novosti

Ukraine builds additional defense line in Zaporizhia . Vladimir Rogov, the Russian-appointed official in charge of Zaporizhia regions, said the Ukrainian army has begun building additional defense lines near the town of Orekhov (Zaporizhia).

“ The Ukrainian military has brought a large amount of construction equipment there and workers are building the second line of defense in the Orekhov region. Construction work is being carried out at high speed thanks to UAVs and reconnaissance aircraft ,” Rogov said.

Some related developments

Ukraine increases investment in homemade weapons . Ukraine has recently stepped up the development of its defense industry, especially as the United States and Europe struggle to provide weapons and support to the country.

Accordingly, the Ukrainian government has spent nearly 1.4 billion USD in 2024 to buy and develop domestic weapons. This figure is 20 times higher than before Russia conducted military operations here.

However, it is worth noting that a large portion of the weapons are now being purchased from private factories that are springing up across Ukraine, which are rapidly taking over an industry once controlled by state-owned enterprises.

Ukraine warns Russia if it launches new offensive . Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky warned that Russia will suffer heavy losses if it launches a new offensive on the city of Kharkov.

“ We cannot ignore any information about the enemy preparing for offensive actions, so we are taking all measures to respond to such a scenario appropriately ,” Syrsky said.

According to Mr. Syrsky, Kiev is preparing to strengthen its territory and positions, install a comprehensive barrier system and draw up a plan of action for the army in case of such an attack.

Sweden considers sending fighter jets to Ukraine . Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said that discussions about Stockholm transferring fighter jets to Ukraine are underway.

“ Discussions about sending Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine are ongoing, and within the framework of the fighter jet alliance. Sweden is also part of this alliance ,” Mr. Jonson said.

Asked about Western military aid to Ukraine, Mr. Jonson said Europe “needs to increase its support to compensate for some of the diminishing resources,” referring to recent reductions in U.S. aid to Kiev.

Ukraine calls on the US to help strengthen its air defense capabilities . According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry , Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin had a phone call about the need to strengthen Kiev's air defense capabilities.

During the call, Mr. Umerov provided Mr. Austin with details about recent missile attacks that Russia conducted against Ukrainian cities.

Mr. Umerov stressed the importance of providing additional air defense and missile systems to Kiev.

Poland and Ukraine are about to sign a security agreement . Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said that his country and Poland are planning to sign a security agreement.

According to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the country has signed seven security treaties with NATO member states. Ukraine hopes to sign a similar agreement with Poland. In addition, Ukraine is also expecting "serious signals and steps" from NATO at the alliance's summit in July.

There is no sign that Russia will attack a NATO member . The chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, affirmed that there is no sign that Russia is planning to attack a member country of this military alliance, but warned that NATO still needs to be better prepared.

According to Mr. Bauer, Article 5 of the NATO founding treaty, which stipulates collective defense, can only be applied in the event of a direct attack against one or more member countries of this military alliance.

However, NATO officials said that Russia's ambitions "go beyond Ukraine", so the alliance "generally needs to be more prepared".

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