Will Ukraine soon use its own missiles against Russia?

Since Russia began its war in Ukraine in February 2022, its military has regularly used long-range weapons manufactured at home. However, Ukrainian forces have not been able to counter with their own weapons.

Furthermore, the missiles Ukraine receives from its allies have range and deployment limitations regarding its use on Russian territory.

To change the country's defense and reduce its dependence on weapons supplies from its partners, Ukraine has been working to implement its own missile program.

Palyanytsya jet-powered combat drone

"Russians will find it quite difficult even to pronounce the name. It will be just as difficult for them to defend themselves against this drone. But understanding what they've done to deserve it won't be a problem," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joked about the new Palyanytsya combat drone.

"Palyanytsya" is the Ukrainian word for bread and is often used humorously, as most Russians have trouble pronouncing it.

Zelenskyy said during a speech in late August to celebrate the country's Independence Day that the first and most successful combat use of our new weapon has already taken place.

"There are some components coming from abroad, but the design and the full manufacturing comes from Ukraine," Alexander Kamyshin, Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries, told DW.

According to United24, a Ukrainian government site which posted the video of the Palyanytsya drone, Ukrainian specialists developed this weapon over the course of a year and a half. Palyanytsya is equipped with a turbojet engine and, therefore, has a much higher speed than drones with combustion engines. It is also furnished with several guidance systems.

The main targets of the "Palyanytsya" combat drones are likely going to be the around 20 Russian military airfields from which Russia has been firing at Ukraine. Some are between 600 and 700 kilometers (372 and 434 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

According to United24, the cost of the combat drone is "much lower than that of analog missiles," and further price reductions and an expansion of production are expected. All other information remains classified.

However, Serhiy Zgurets, CEO of the Ukrainian media company Defense Express, told DW that as the drone data is not yet fully available, it is not possible to accurately assess the effectiveness of the Palyanytsya.

"At the moment, range is the only parameter that helps us to evaluate the weapon, however, the range is not the most important thing, but rather the weight of the warhead and the accuracy of the hit."

Neptun sea and land-based missiles

Shurez told DW that Ukraine has achieved some achievements in its missile program in recent years.

"For example, the series of anti-tank weapons, such as Stugna and Corsair, are currently in mass production. Or the R-360 Neptun anti-ship missile. This product from the Kyiv design bureau Lutsch has been in service with the armed forces since 2020, as has the RK-360MC coastal missile system, designed to detect and destroy enemy ships of various classes," he said.

A Neptun missile has a 150-kilogram warhead and a range of up to 300 kilometers.

On April 13, 2022, one of the most significant events of the Ukrainian-Russian war took place: two Neptun missiles sank the Russian flagship Moskva.

In 2023, it transpired that Ukrainian designers had modified the Neptun sea-based missile into versions capable of hitting both ships and land targets.

A Ukrainian Ministry of Defense representative told the American news and analysis website The War Zone that the new weapon has a new guidance system but is launched from the same launcher as the sea-based missile. The official said that the modified Neptun has a range of about 400 kilometers and a 350-kilogram warhead, more than twice as much as the anti-ship version.

The Ukrainian military has already used the modified Neptun missile on several occasions.

What's new in the missile program?

According to media reports, Ukraine also deployed missiles of the S-200 air defense system to strike deep into Russia last year.

These missiles have now been modified so that they can also hit ground targets. Kyiv has not officially confirmed this, but a government representative told BBC Ukraine that such work is underway: "In the current circumstances, we have to find a way out. We have found the solution with S-200, and it seems to be working well so far."

The S-200 was officially decommissioned in Ukraine in 2013.

The country also utilized modernized Soviet Tu-141 Strizh surveillance drones. These drones have a turbo engine and can reach around 1,000 kilometers per hour (621 miles per hour). According to the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Service, these drones damaged Russian Tu-95 long-range bombers in Engels in 2023.

Made in Ukraine: First ballistic missile

Then, in late August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy celebrated the successful test of the first local ballistic missile. "Ukraine ultimately needs to achieve the highest level of defense independence," he emphasized. Selensky did not, however, say which type of missile was involved.

Citing secrecy, the Ministry of Defense refused to comment on the missile program to DW. It was only pointed out that the national budget funds the missile program.

However, it is known that the Ukrainian defense industry has been developing a ballistic missile since 2006.

This is the short-range missile Sapsan, which has a fuselage diameter of 0.9 meters and a range of 500 kilometers. The missile is known under its export name Hrim-2. Ukraine is said to have produced Hrim-2 with a diameter of 0.6 meters and a range of 280 kilometers for Saudi Arabia.

Since the outbreak of the war, the development of the Sapsan has not been commented on publicly, although Russia has repeatedly claimed to have downed Ukrainian Hrim-2 missiles.

"Ukraine is certainly capable of producing sufficient amounts of rockets for a war with Russia," Frank Ledwidge, a British military analyst and former British military intelligence officer, told DW.

"You cannot underestimate Ukrainians in respect of this kind of technology," he added. "Before the war, they were certainly within the top 10 world's space powers because they had this expertise in building rocket missiles and suchlike," he said. "Just by way of illustration: Elon Musk's favorite rocket, apart from his own, is Zenith, made in Ukraine."

This article was originally written in Russian.