A long-range weapon developed by Ukraine has successfully hit a target in Russia from a distance of 700 kilometers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post on Aug. 31.
Zelenskyy did not provide any further details, but 700 kilometers is the distance from Ukraine to Russia’s Pskov. Explosions were reported in the area of Pskov airbase in the early hours of Aug. 30. Four Il-76 military transport aircraft were damaged in the attack, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.
On Aug. 28, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is ramping up its own production capacity of weapons and plans to manufacture artillery, ammunition, drones, missiles, and armored vehicles.
Ukraine has successfully deployed a domestically-produced strike drone with a range of 1,000 kilometers, according to Nataliya Sad, the press secretary of the Ukroboronprom defense conglomerate, on June 20. On Aug. 1, Newsweek reported that Ukrainian Bober (Beaver) kamikaze drones could potentially reach targets as far as Moscow.
Ukraine has repeatedly assured its partners that Western-supplied weaponry would be used solely within Ukrainian territory. However, there are no restrictions on using domestically produced arms for attacks on Russia, according to Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
The day before, Russia reported a massive wave of drone attacks on its western regions. Four military transport planes stationed in Pskov were destroyed in the attack, according to the Ukrainian military.
Pskov is over 800 kilometers north of Kyiv, or 700 kilometers from Ukraine’s border.
Last week, Ukraine shared more information on the development of its own weaponry, specifically the production of sea drones.
The country is now able to build these drones on a mass scale, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on Aug. 24.
Though he did not say how many naval drones Ukraine deploys or has at its disposal, Ukraine is not making “one or two in garages,” he said. “Mass production is underway.”
On Aug. 15 the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed that they used the new experimental maritime drone, nicknamed “Sea Baby” for the July 17 Crimean Bridge attack.
“Sea surface drones are a unique invention of the Security Service of Ukraine,” Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU, told CNN. “No other private companies are involved.”
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