Amid war, Ukraine tries to boost arms sales

Arms producers are focused on the front lines, and an unusual figure is trying to revive the industry.

Kyiv, Ukraine – The Soviet-era Kub surface-to-air missile system once proved lethal to dozens of Israeli Skyhawk and Phantom fighter jets during the 1973 October War – and shot down an F-16 during the 1999 NATO bombings of Serbia. Saddam Hussein, Bashar al-Assad and Muammar Gaddafi bought plenty of Kubs – a system that consists of radar-carrying vehicles, missile launchers and spare missiles. The system’s retrofitted version can take down stealth bombers and drones, its developers say.