Ukraine counts on missile-drone hybrid to strike deep into Russia

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine says it has a new long-range weapon to strike deep into Russia without asking permission from allies — a homegrown combination of missile and drone that the defense minister vowed Monday would provide “answers” to a wave of Russian bombings.

The “Palianytsia” was created due to urgent necessity, Ukrainian officials said, as Russia has dominated the skies since the outbreak of the war in February 2022 and Ukraine’s Western allies have placed conditions on use of their long-range missiles in Russia. On Monday, a wave of Russian missiles and drones targeted Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure in the largest such attack in weeks.

“Defenders of life should have no restrictions on weapons, as long as Russia uses all kinds of its own weapons,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram message following the attacks.

Zelenskyy confirmed Saturday the existence of the Palianytsia, named after a type of Ukrainian bread and a word so notoriously difficult to pronounce correctly that it was used to unmask suspected spies early in the war. The Ukrainian president called it “a new class” of weapon.

Saturday, which marked Ukraine’s 33rd anniversary of independence from the former Soviet Union, also saw the first use of the new weapon, targeting a Russian military installation in the occupied territory, officials said without providing details.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov promised Monday the weapon would be used again soon in response to the overnight attack on Ukraine.

“Ukraine is preparing its response. Weapons of its own production,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “This once again proves that for victory, we need long-range capabilities and the lifting of restrictions on strikes on the enemy’s military facilities.”

A Ukrainian military video hinted that its range is up to 430 miles — on par with the U.S.-supplied ATACMS. It showed a map with various airfields, including Russia’s Savasleyka air base, which lies within that range, adding that the Palianytsia can reach at least 20 Russian airfields.

The United States and other Western allies provide long-range weapons to Ukraine but restrict it from launching them deep into Russia for fear of escalating the war. Ukraine can target the border regions but wants to go deeper to attack Russia’s military infrastructure.

The Institute for the Study of War said Russia was “leveraging sanctuary space in deep rear areas.” 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.

Ukraine’s technology minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, told The Associated Press in his first interview about the new weapon that the next step was to scale up the production.

“I think this will be a game changer because we will be able to strike where Russia doesn’t expect it today,” he said.

Fedorov declined to elaborate on the range or current supply, citing security reasons, but said that he has been involved in the projects for developing domestic missiles since the end of 2022.

Ukraine’s battlefields have become a deadly testing lab for new weapons and new adaptations of old ones. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have rigged off-the-shelf equipment with explosives and military-grade infrared cameras; Russia has retrofitted Soviet-era unguided bombs with GPS harnesses; and Ukraine’s underwater drones have crippled Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

But the new weapon has been a long-term goal of Ukraine.

One of the specialists involved in the long-range missile project said it was “a completely new development, from scratch” that began about 18 months ago.

“This is not an extension of an old Soviet project,” said the specialist, speaking on condition of anonymity to safeguard the project’s secrecy. The missile has a solid-fuel booster that accelerates it, followed by a jet engine, the specialist said.

Ukraine says its inability to fight back against Russian long-range weapons has deadly consequences. Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russia has launched 9,627 long-range missiles and Ukraine’s defense shot down only a quarter of them, and that more than half the Russian targets were civilian.

The specialist and Fedorov said each missile costs less than $1 million, and the military is turning to the private sector to bring down production costs further. “The private market generates solutions incredibly quickly,” the minister said.

As of this year, private companies have become the main suppliers of drones for the Ukrainian army, including those now striking inside Russia and the underwater ones that have repeatedly struck the Russian Black Sea fleet, said Fedorov.

“All types of missiles will be available in Ukraine,” he said. “If we have our own weapons like this, we will feel more independent and confident.”

Fedorov added that he believed Russia’s vast size could also be its vulnerability.

“It’s impossible to produce enough air defense systems to protect such a large territory,” he said. “For us, this opens up the possibility of operating deep behind enemy lines.”

Associated Press writer Illia Novikov contributed from Kyiv.

乌克兰基辅——乌克兰表示，它拥有一种新型远程武器，无需征得盟友的许可即可打击俄罗斯纵深目标——这是一种国产导弹和无人机的组合武器。乌克兰国防部长周一誓言，这种武器将为俄罗斯的一系列轰炸提供“答案”。

乌克兰官员表示，“帕利亚尼察”中转站的建立是出于迫切需要，因为自2022年2月战争爆发以来，俄罗斯一直控制着乌克兰的制空权，而乌克兰的西方盟友则对在俄罗斯使用远程导弹设置了限制条件。周一，俄罗斯导弹和无人机对乌克兰的电力基础设施发动了数周以来规模最大的袭击。

“只要俄罗斯使用各种武器，捍卫生命的人们就不应该受到武器使用限制，”总统泽连斯基在袭击事件后通过 Telegram 发消息说。

泽连斯基周六证实了“帕利亚尼察”（Palianytsia）的存在。这种武器以一种乌克兰面包的名字命名，其发音极其困难，以至于在战争初期曾被用来识别间谍嫌疑人。这位乌克兰总统称其为“一种新型”武器。

周六是乌克兰脱离前苏联独立33周年纪念日，当天也首次使用了这种新型武器，目标是被占领土上的一个俄罗斯军事设施。官员们表示，但没有提供细节。

国防部长鲁斯捷姆·乌梅罗夫周一承诺，将很快再次使用这种武器，以回应乌克兰昨晚遭受的袭击。

“乌克兰正在准备应对。武器是自主生产的，”他在脸书页面上写道。“这再次证明，要想取得胜利，我们需要远程打击能力，并解除对打击敌方军事设施的限制。”

一段乌克兰军方视频暗示，该导弹的射程可达430英里，与美国提供的ATACMS导弹相当。视频中展示了一张地图，地图上标出了包括俄罗斯萨瓦斯列伊卡空军基地在内的多个机场，该基地位于导弹射程之内。视频还补充说，帕利亚尼察导弹至少可以覆盖20个俄罗斯机场。

美国和其他西方盟国向乌克兰提供远程武器，但出于担心战争升级，限制乌克兰将其射入俄罗斯纵深地区。乌克兰可以打击边境地区，但希望深入俄罗斯腹地，攻击其军事基础设施。

战争研究所表示，俄罗斯正在“利用其纵深后方的庇护空间”。该研究所估计，俄罗斯境内至少有250个具有重要军事意义的目标处于ATACMS导弹的射程之内，但目前的限制只允许乌克兰打击其中的20个目标。

乌克兰技术部长米哈伊洛·费多罗夫在接受美联社首次采访时谈到这种新型武器，他表示下一步是扩大生产规模。

“我认为这将改变游戏规则，因为我们将能够打击俄罗斯目前意想不到的地方，”他说。

费多罗夫以安全为由拒绝详细说明射程或目前的供应情况，但他表示，自 2022 年底以来，他一直参与国产导弹的研发项目。

乌克兰的战场已沦为新型武器和旧式武器改进型的致命试验场。乌克兰和俄罗斯军队都曾将现成装备改装，加装炸药和军用级红外摄像机；俄罗斯还对苏联时代的无制导炸弹进行了GPS定位系统的改装；乌克兰的水下无人机也重创了俄罗斯的黑海舰队。

但研发这种新型武器一直是乌克兰的长期目标。

参与远程导弹项目的一位专家表示，这是一个“从零开始的全新研发项目”，大约在 18 个月前启动。

“这并非苏联旧项目的延续，”这位专家说道，他要求匿名以保护项目的机密性。该专家表示，导弹采用固体燃料助推器加速，随后由喷气发动机驱动。

乌克兰表示，其无力反击俄罗斯远程武器已造成致命后果。乌克兰武装部队总司令奥列克桑德·瑟尔斯基将军称，俄罗斯已发射9627枚远程导弹，乌克兰防御系统仅击落了其中四分之一，且超过一半的俄罗斯目标是平民。

这位专家和费多罗夫表示，每枚导弹的成本不到100万美元，军方正在转向私营部门以进一步降低生产成本。“私营市场能够以惊人的速度提供解决方案，”这位部长说道。

费多罗夫表示，从今年开始，私营公司已成为乌克兰军队无人机的主要供应商，其中包括目前在俄罗斯境内进行打击的无人机以及多次袭击俄罗斯黑海舰队的水下无人机。

他说：“乌克兰将拥有各种类型的导弹。如果我们拥有这样的自主武器，我们会感到更加独立和自信。”

费多罗夫补充说，他认为俄罗斯幅员辽阔也可能是其弱点所在。

他说：“不可能生产出足够多的防空系统来保护如此广阔的领土。对我们来说，这为我们提供了深入敌后作战的可能性。”

美联社记者伊利亚·诺维科夫从基辅报道。