Ukraine Successfully Tests its First Ballistic Missile as Zelensky Urges Use of Long-Range Arms.

On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the successful test of the first ballistic missile manufactured locally in Ukraine. This announcement was made during the "Ukraine 2024. Independence" forum, where Zelensky praised the Ukrainian defense industry for this achievement. He emphasized the importance of the work done by defense sector workers, who continue to develop advanced military technologies despite the ongoing conflict with Russia.
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Stand tests of a part of the missile for the Ukrainian SRBM in 2019 (Picture source: Pivdenne Design Bureau)

Zelensky shared that the missile test was successful, marking a new step in Ukraine's efforts to strengthen its military capabilities. However, he refrained from providing detailed information about the missile due to the sensitive nature of the project. This announcement follows recent reports indicating that Ukraine has deployed a new long-range "rocket drone" known as Palianytsia in combat, which highlights the country's focus on enhancing its offensive capabilities.

Currently, Ukraine possesses the Soviet-era Tochka tactical ballistic missile, which has a range of 120 km but lower accuracy. Ukraine has also developed the Hrim-2, also known as Grim-2, Grom-2, Thunder, or OTRK Sapsan. This short-range ballistic missile system, developed to replace the Tochka-U missiles currently in service, is designed to evade air defense systems, including the Russian S-300 and S-400. In its export version, the Hrim-2 can target stationary individual and group targets at distances ranging from 50 to 280 km. However, for Ukrainian military needs, the system's range has been extended to 700 km, significantly enhancing its previous range of 450 to 500 km.

This development comes as Zelensky continues to urge Western allies to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons provided by the West against targets in Russian territory. The Ukrainian president emphasized the intensification of Russian bombardments in recent days and called for stronger support from Western nations.

The surprise offensive launched by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region earlier this month was intended to compensate for the lack of long-range weaponry, according to Zelensky. He noted that many of the missiles launched by Russia on Monday originated from regions like Kursk and Belgorod, as well as Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.

This successful missile test and Ukraine's persistent calls for increased military capabilities underscore the ongoing escalation of the conflict and Kyiv's determination to strengthen its defense industry.

While the exact details of the new ballistic missile remain classified, the announcement signals Ukraine's growing ability to independently develop and deploy advanced weaponry. At the end of 2023, the Ministry of Defense stated that Ukraine had good prospects for producing missiles with a range of 1,000 km, and that the project was exclusively funded by the national budget and carried out by the Ukrainian industry.