Ukraine has increased the interception rate of Russian Shahed drones to over 90%, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced.
"We have increased our interception rate of Russian Shahed drones to over 90%. This means that thousands of Russian strike drones are neutralized every week. And, with all due respect, no other country has had the capability to defend against strike drones on such a scale," Zelenskyy said, speaking at the defense industries forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.
The president also reported that Ukraine maintains a high level of cruise missile interception thanks to the development of the air defense system, and thanked partners who continue to provide Ukraine with defense assistance.
At the same time, Zelenskyy addressed the summit participants, noting that "if Ukrainians already know how to fight like this, then it is completely logical for these capabilities to become part of the collective defense of the alliance."
"Ukraine in NATO is a source of extraordinary defense potential. Meanwhile, we have completely deprived Russia of the very idea of a strategic rear. You know this country: for a long time Russia believed it had a territorial advantage. No one else had a deep rear where military production, military equipment, and everything on which its activities depend could be safely stored. Russia believed that no one could reach them, but we did," the president emphasized.
He added that there is not a single large oil refinery left in Russia that has not been hit by Ukraine.
"Unlike Putin, we are not waging this war for pleasure or geopolitics. Russia brought this war to Ukraine, and it kills our people. It seeks to destroy our independence, and we are only defending ourselves," Zelenskyy remarked.
