Ukraine's plans for missile, drone production and Johnson's re-election - Friday brief
RBC-Ukraine collage
Ukraine plans to produce 3,000 missiles and 30,000 long-range drones. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives has supported Mike Johnson's candidacy for Speaker for the second time.
Read more about what happened on Friday, January 3.
Ukraine plans to produce 3,000 missiles and 30,000 long-range drones
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed to produce 30,000 long-range drones. Ukrainian enterprises also plan to make about 3,000 missiles.
A total of UAH 2 trillion 230 billion has been allocated for defense and security in 2025. Taxpayers' funds from the state budget will be used for these purposes. Spending on weapons and military equipment will amount to at least UAH 739 billion.
Ukrainian defense companies plan to increase their production capacity to $30 billion. As part of the Weapons of Victory project, the government will launch long-term contracts with manufacturers for 3-5 years.
Mike Johnson re-elected as Speaker of US House of Representatives
The US House of Representatives supported Mike Johnson's candidacy for Speaker.
As The New York Times reports, Johnson secured 218 votes from congressmen to become Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House, received 215 votes.
Johnson was able to reach this number of votes thanks to congressmen Ralph Norman and Keith Self, who decided to support his candidacy. During the first vote, they backed other candidates.
Next Ramstein meeting date revealed
A new meeting on Ukraine's defense in the Ramstein format will take place next week. The meeting is scheduled for January 9.
According to the public relations office of the Ramstein air base, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin will chair the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's defense.
The meeting will be held in person. This will be the 25th meeting of the Contact Group.
Ukraine is developing Trembita cruise missile
The Telegraph wrote that Ukraine's Trembita missile “might be the biggest symbol of Ukraine's drive for firepower autonomy.” An improved version is currently being produced and it will be able to reach Moscow.
According to aviation expert Valerii Romanenko, the Trembita missile may be used to strike Russian targets this year. Yet, it still needs to be finalized.
Read more about the Trembita missile and its current stage of development in the RBC-Ukraine report.
Zelenskyy announces meetings and negotiations on strengthening air defense
Ukraine's representatives will soon hold a series of meetings with foreign partners. This is necessary to strengthen the country's air defense, stated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
President highlighted that over the first three days of the new year, the Russian army launched over 300 strike drones and nearly 20 missiles, including ballistic ones, against Ukrainian cities and villages.
He said that Ukraine needs to constantly replenish its stock of missiles for air defense, as well as increase the capacity of mobile fire groups.
"I am grateful to all our partners who are providing assistance. We are preparing for meetings and negotiations next week to strengthen our air defense. The schedule for this work has already been preliminarily agreed upon," the President stated.
US to announce new military aid package for Ukraine in coming days – White House
The United States is planning to announce military assistance to Ukraine in the coming days, stated John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications.
Kirby did not specify the date when the new military aid package for Ukraine will be announced, nor what kind of weapons Ukrainian defenders will receive.
