Journalism of Courage
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Saturday, confirmed the existence of a new homegrown long-range weapon — a missile-drone hybrid — which can strike deep into Russia. The Palianytsia was used for the first time on Saturday to target a Russian military installation, officials said without providing further details.
The Palianytsia was born out of necessity, with its development starting some 18 months ago. Currently, the United States and other Western allies provide long-range weapons to Ukraine but restrict their usage deep into Russian territory out of fears of further escalation.
The Institute for the Study of War said that Russia was “leveraging sanctuary space in deep rear areas” for military infrastructure. It estimated at least 250 militarily significant targets in Russia were within range of the ATACMS missiles, but current restrictions allow Ukraine to strike only 20 of them.
The Palianytsia with a 700-km range, comparable to the ATACMS, will allow Ukraine to bypass western restrictions.
Ukraine’s technology minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, told The Associated Press that “this will be a game changer” because Ukraine will be able to “strike where Russia doesn’t expect it today”. He added: “It’s impossible to produce enough air defense systems to protect such a large territory [Russia]… [the Palianytsia] opens up the possibility of operating deep behind enemy lines.
The missile has a solid-fuel booster that accelerates it, followed by a jet engine, a specialist told The AP. Each missile costs less than $1 million, and the military is turning to the private sector to bring down production costs further.
