War in Ukraine: Selenskyj praises new type of missile

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has developed a new, powerful weapon against Russia. “Yesterday saw the first successful combat use of our new weapon – a Ukrainian long-range missile drone of the ‘Palyanytsia’ type,” Zelensky wrote on Facebook. This hybrid is capable of attacking the airfields from which Russian fighter jets and bombers take off to attack Ukrainian cities and towns.

“In the two and a half years of its large-scale war of aggression, Russia has fired almost 10,000 missiles of various types and more than 33,000 glide bombs at Ukraine,” the head of state recalled the devastating Russian attacks from the air. Now Ukraine has something in its hands to stop the offensive potential of the Russian Air Force.

The development of the mix of rocket and drone took one and a half years, said Zelensky. He did not provide any information on the range of the Paljanytsia. He announced that its production would be expanded quickly. Zelensky had already announced the introduction of the new weapon the evening before.

In the past, Kiev had repeatedly asked its Western partners for permission to use long-range weapons systems against Russian territory. This would include, among other things, targeting military airfields in Russia. Western states have refused this permission. They are worried about being drawn into the war.

Zelensky did not provide any information about where the new hybrid rocket and drone was used. According to military experts, however, the Paljanytsia may have been used for the first time to attack an ammunition depot in the Voronezh region. On Saturday, there were reports of a fire at an ammunition depot in the Ostrogozhsk district, which was caused by a drone strike.