Zelensky reports successes in missile production

Ukraine is making progress in the production of missiles for defence against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address on Wednesday evening.

Series production has started and new models are being developed, Zelensky said. It was now important for the military to be able to turn the results of defence production into successes, he added.

Drones and missiles are considered to be the most important weapons in the war, which has been going on for two years.

At the same time, he appealed to the population's will to persevere in view of the ongoing attacks on Ukrainian cities from the air and the slow but steady advance of Russian troops on the ground.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is doing everything he can to intensify the strikes against Ukraine. Kiev is also strengthening its military capabilities, he said. "But we need no less inner strength, an inner understanding that only the strong can end the war on their own terms," Zelensky said.

The peace conference planned in Switzerland in June is seen as one way of ending the war. Zelensky thanked the Swiss president for organizing the conference and announced a proposal for what he called a "just end to this war."

Until now, Ukraine has insisted on a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories as the basis for a peace settlement. Moscow, on the other hand, claims at least the previously conquered territories for itself.