Ukraine has test-fired its first domestically-produced ballistic missile, Vladimir Zelensky has said. Kiev has been asking its Western backers for months to allow it to use foreign-made missile systems to hit targets deep inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday. “What other developments are there in Ukraine? I thought it was too early to talk about it, but… there was a positive test of the first Ukrainian ballistic missile. I congratulate our military production complex on this,” he said.
Zelensky declined to provide any further details, technical specifications or even the name of the weapon, but said that he wanted the public to “know and appreciate domestic defense producers working 24/7.”
The announcement came after Kiev claimed to have used a Palyanitsa missile drone against Russian targets. While many of its specifications are also secret, Ukrainian officials have said it is ground-launched and has the range of up to 700km.
Ukraine still heavily relies on Western-supplied missile systems such as the US-designed HIMARS and ATACMS in its fight with Russia. However, despite Kiev’s repeated pleas, Western nations still preclude it from using their weapons to strike most targets on internationally recognized Russian territory.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder confirmed on Tuesday that Ukraine can use US security assistance to “defend themselves from cross-border attacks, in other words counterfire,” but nothing beyond that. Washington allowed Kiev to carry out such attacks in late May to counter a Russian offensive in Kharkov Region which Moscow said was aimed at establishing a “cordon sanitaire” to protect civilians from Ukrainian strikes.
The West’s current stance on Ukraine using foreign-made long-range weapons for strikes deep into Russia looks like “blackmail” according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “It is an attempt to create an impression that the West wants to avoid excessive escalation, but in fact this is a ruse… We will repeat that playing with fire… is a very dangerous thing to do for grown-ups who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country.”