Ukraine now possesses a domestic missile capable of successfully striking targets at a distance of 700 kilometers and has already been successfully used, a Ukrainian military official revealed.
According to Defense Express, Brigadier General Serhii Baranov, the Chief of the Main Directorate of Missile Forces, Artillery, and Unmanned Systems of the Ukrainian Army’s General Staff, said in an interview with KYIV NOT KIEV that such experimental models are already in existence, and testing is underway, with the new missile boasting enhanced capabilities in terms of both range and precision, signaling further advancements to come.
Baranov confirmed it was an indigenous missile, answering a question about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s announcement on 31 August, in which he said that Ukraine had successfully used long-range weapons over a distance of 700 kilometers.
Zelenskyy’s statement was somewhat vague, as long-range weapons also include one-way attack “kamikaze drones,” such as the Bober (“Beaver”), which has a similar range, and Ukraine had also already used the converted Soviet-era Tu-141 Strizh reconnaissance drone to carry explosives over the same distance.
But Baranov said this is an entirely new missile, “so the only question left is whether it is a new ballistic missile or a new cruise missile,” Defense Express notes.
“The rocket program is active. There are already experimental models, and tests are being conducted,” Baranov noted, then asked about Zelenskyy’s 31 August statement, replied: “This was a completely new missile, and we will continue to enhance its capabilities in terms of range and accuracy. I believe you will see the results in due course.”
Additionally, Baranov’s admission aligns with an earlier report by former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who once said Ukraine was developing a missile with a range of 1,000 km. Defense Express concludes that Ukraine is unlikely to be developing two separate similar missile projects, and “it is obviously the same missile that is already flying at 700 km and should reach 1,000 km.”
The development of this domestic missile holds significant strategic importance, especially in the context of positional warfare, Defense Express stresses, saying that in sufficient quantities, it would allow to achieve relative parity in long-range warfare capabilities and target a substantial portion of Russia’s defensive facilities, as well as other critical targets.
With the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February, Ukraine ramped up the existing domestic weapon programs and started multiple new projects.
In the early stages of the all-out war, the Ukrainian indigenous anti-tank missile system Stugna-P and the BTR-4 armored fighting vehicle and other domestic weapons were instrumental in many battles to achieve an advantage. In April 2022, Ukraine sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s flagship Moskva with the indigenous R-360 Neptune missiles.
In June 2023, then-Defense Minister Reznikov said Ukraine had approved a missile program with “good prospects” for the country to have domestic missiles with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers.
Days ago, Ukraine’s recently appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with the country’s Strategic Industries Minister and said that Ukraine would continue to ramp up domestic weapons production in order to reduce dependence on Western military aid.
Earlier, the minister claimed Ukraine aimed to significantly ramp up its drone production capabilities and produce tens of thousands of drones per month by the end of 2023. He also stated that Ukraine boosted the domestic production of artillery ammunition, although Kyiv still relies heavily on supplies of shells from the Allies.
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