Mr Zelensky confirmed the existence of Palianitsia, named after a type of Ukrainian bread, on Saturday (August 24, 2024). | Photo credit: Reuters/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service
Ukraine says it has a new indigenous long-range weapon that will enable it to strike deep into Russia without seeking permission from allies.
Ukrainian officials said the “Palianitsiya”, with missile and drone characteristics, was created out of urgent need, as Russia has increasingly dominated the skies since the outbreak of the war in February 2022. On Monday (August 26, 2024), a wave of Russian missiles and drones targeted Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure in the biggest attack in weeks.
“As long as Russia continues to use all types of weapons at its disposal, there should be no restrictions on weapons for life defenders,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram message after the attacks.
Mr Zelensky on Saturday (August 24, 2024) confirmed the existence of Palianytsia, named after a type of Ukrainian bread and a word so notoriously difficult to pronounce correctly that it was used to expose suspected spies at the start of the war. The Ukrainian president called it “a new category” of weapon.
Saturday (August 24, 2024), the day marking the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the former Soviet Union, also saw the first use of the new weapon targeting a Russian military installation in the occupied territory, officials said, without giving details.
A Ukrainian military video indicated it had a range of up to 700 kilometers – comparable to the US-supplied ATACMS. It showed a map with various airfields, including Russia’s Savasleyka Air Base, which is within that range, and said Palianitsia could reach at least 20 Russian airfields.
The United States and other Western allies provide Ukraine with long-range weapons but have refrained from firing them far into Russia for fear of escalating the war. Ukraine can target border areas but wants to go deep into Russia to attack its military infrastructure.
The Institute for the Study of War said Russia was “taking advantage of its deep rear areas as a haven.” It estimated that at least 250 militarily important targets in Russia are within range of ATACMS missiles, but Ukraine is only allowed to strike 20 of them due to existing sanctions.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Technology of Ukraine, told The Associated Press In his first interview about the new weapon, he said the next step is to scale up production.
“I think this will be a major transformational step, because we will be able to strike where Russia does not expect it today,” he said.
Mr. Fedorov declined to elaborate on the range or current supplies, citing security reasons, but said he was involved in projects to develop domestic missiles from the end of 2022.
Ukraine’s battlefields have become a deadly testing lab for new weapons and new adaptations of old weapons. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have deployed improvised devices fitted with explosives and military-grade infrared cameras; Russia has retrofitted Soviet-era unguided bombs with GPS harnesses; and Ukrainian underwater drones have crippled Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
But the new weapon has been Ukraine’s long-term goal. One of the experts involved in the long-range missile project said it was “a completely new development, from scratch” that began about 18 months ago.
“This is not an extension of any old Soviet project,” said the expert, who asked not to be named to protect the project’s secrecy. “The missile has a solid fuel booster that gives it momentum, followed by a jet engine,” the expert added.
Ukraine says its inability to counter Russian long-range weapons will have deadly consequences. Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Gen. Oleksandr Sirsky, said Russia had fired 9,627 long-range missiles and Ukraine’s defense shot down only a quarter of them, and more than half of the Russian targets were civilians.
Experts and Mr. Fedorov said each missile costs less than $1 million, and the military is turning to the private sector to further reduce production costs. “The private market generates solutions incredibly quickly,” the minister said.
“Starting this year, private companies have become the main suppliers of drones for the Ukrainian military, including attack drones that now fly inside Russia, and underwater drones that have repeatedly attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” Mr. Fedorov said.
“Ukraine will have access to all types of missiles,” he said. “If we have our own weapons of this kind, we will feel more independent and confident.”
Mr. Fedorov said he believed Russia’s vast size could also be its weakness.
“It is impossible to produce enough air defense systems to protect such a large area,” he said. “For us, this opens up the possibility of operating deep behind enemy lines.”