With no guarantee of U.S. weapons, Ukraine races to make its own

By Greg Myre

Published September 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM AST

A Ukrainian man displays a military drone known as the Mini Shark at an arms conference in Lviv, Ukraine, on Aug. 28. The event highlighted Ukraine's rapidly growing weapons industry, and was held in an underground parking garage so it could not be interrupted by one of Russia's frequent airstrikes.

Updated September 30, 2025 at 5:01 AM AST

LVIV, Ukraine — Ukraine's emerging arms industry is on display at an odd place here — an underground parking garage, beneath a gleaming new office building known as Lviv Tech City.

Conference organizers chose this secure space so the event couldn't be disrupted by one of Russia's frequent airstrikes.

"We're a Ukrainian company. We're building drones, all different kinds of drones," said Maksym Yakovlev, who works with FRDM Group, one of many firms making military drones.

Many Ukrainian drones cost $1,000 or less and are only used once. They simply fly into a Russian target and explode. The one on display here is a high-end model, the R-34-T. It has six propellers, carries 30 pounds of weaponry, and can be reused. They are sold in pairs, with the equipment to support them, for a little under $70,000.

"It's a heavy drone which flies in, carries grenades and explosives, drops them on the target, and comes back," said Yakovlev.

Ukrainian troops operate drones near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, on Sept. 10. The country has dramatically ramped up drone production and is expected to make more than 4 million this year. The weapons often strikes deep inside Russia, damaging oil refineries that are critical to that country's economy and war effort.

An industry born of necessity

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine's arsenal consisted largely of aging hardware dating back decades to when Russia and Ukraine were both part of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine burned through those stockpiles at a furious pace, and then became dependent on U.S. and European weapons.

President Trump is sounding more supportive of Ukraine following a recent meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations.

But the U.S. president has not restored military assistance, which he halted after assuming office. Trump says NATO countries can buy U.S. weapons and give them to Ukraine. This is now happening on a limited scale, though not at the level the U.S. had been supplying weapons under former President Joe Biden.

As a result, Ukraine is ramping up production as rapidly as possible.

Young Ukrainian tech entrepreneurs like Yaroslav Azhnyuk are leading the charge.

"I lived in Silicon Valley for six years. I went through a very classic startup journey," said Azhnyuk.

In California, he launched Petcube, a company that makes cameras to keep watch on pets.

He brought that expertise back to Ukraine, and now makes cameras for drones. He says Ukraine is rapidly emerging as a Silicon Valley for the defense industry.

"Ukraine today is the defense valley of the world," he said. "You sit in a cafe in Kyiv and you meet one defense founder, and then 30 minutes later, another defense tech founder passes by. The energy here is just incredible."

Zelenskyy says the country makes at least 40% of its own weapons overall, and virtually all its own drones.

Ukraine had no real drone industry three years ago. It made more than 2 million last year and expects to make at least 4 million this year, according to Ukrainian officials and analysts following the war.

The latest models travel hundreds of miles, striking Russian oil refineries and causing significant damage to that country's most important industry.

A need for more advanced weapons

Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of Ukraine's parliament who heads the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Ukraine had no choice but to build its own weapons.

"We are outnumbered. Russia has more human resources," Merezhko said in an interview with NPR. "That's why we need more sophisticated weaponry to make up for this difference, to fill this gap."

Ukraine still relies on the U.S. for its most powerful weapons, such as the Patriot air defense system, and F-16 fighter jets.

Ukraine hopes it will still be able to work with the U.S. and Europe to receive resupplies as its fires off the missiles needed for those systems.

Workers inspect a Flamingo cruise missile at a secret factory in Ukraine on Aug. 18. Ukraine says the new weapon can travel 1,800 miles and will be in use soon. To date, Ukraine has had to rely on foreign weapons for long-distance attacks that carry a powerful explosive.

But with heavy weaponry as well, Ukraine is looking to build its own.

The current buzz centers on the Flamingo, a cruise missile that packs a powerful punch and can travel 1,800 miles, according to the Ukrainians. Ukraine says it is building them now and hopes to be in full-scale production by early next year.

Some skeptics say the Flamingo remains unproven and may be overhyped. But if it performs as advertised, Ukraine will have the ability to strike deep inside Russia with a large weapon made at home.

"In terms of military technologies, we are not a burden for NATO, for Europe and for the United States. We are a very good partner, a very promising partner," said Merezhko.

For now, Ukrainian arms makers are still small and in need of investment. But Yaroslav Azhnyuk sees potential.

"There is a big, big financial opportunity for the investors to come here," he said. "Ukraine is the wild east. It's the eastern frontier of the Western civilization."

He acknowledges that much of the work in the near-term is up to Ukrainians like himself.

"I've been working nonstop on these defense companies. We're seeing these companies making an actual impact," he said. "But I still don't think I'm doing enough. I have to be stronger. I have to be smarter."

That means making weapons that fly farther and hit harder.