Palianytsia: Ukraine fires new bread-named ‘missile-drone’ to rattle Russia

This day also happens to be Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Given the sensitive nature of this new weapon, beyond some 3D renderings of the new drone, no technical details have yet been publicly disclosed. It is also not known how many of these new drones Ukraine has built or intends to build in the future.

Palianytsia to pulverize Russian targets

However, it has been announced that the new Palianytsia drone can strike around two dozen Russian military installations. It is launched from a ground-based launcher, and features turbojet engines. The new drone also allegedly costs less than conventional long-range missiles.

“In the two and a half years of full-scale war, Russia has launched about 10,000 missiles of various types and more than 33,000 glide bombs at Ukraine. Stopping attacks on our cities can be achieved by targeting the carriers of this weaponry – Russian aircraft stationed at military airfields,” Zelenskyy announced on Facebook.

“Yesterday, the first successful combat use of our new weapon – the Ukrainian long-range rocket drone Palianytsia – took place. It was designed domestically to destroy the enemy’s offensive potential. The number of rocket drones produced will grow just like our long-range strike drones production did, the efficiency of which we see almost daily,” he added.

The new drone missile was developed as part of a new Ukrainian initiative to stimulate domestic drone research and development. This includes grants for private companies, increased funding for state-owned design bureas, and general deregulation of the industry to grease the wheels.

It also comes a few months after Ukraine became the first nation to develop a dedicated drone force of its Armed Forces.

Taking the war to Russia

The weapon was also developed in light of Ukraine’s inability to use foreign supplied weapons of this kind in Russian territory. Its development now provides a means defending Ukraine while also skirting around limitations from foreign suppliers.

“This is our new method of retaliation against the aggressor. The enemy has been struck. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who made this possible—our developers, manufacturers, and soldiers. I am proud of you all”, Zelenskyy explained in his address.

“Russia will find it very difficult, even to pronounce what has hit them. It will be challenging to counter, but it will be very easy to understand why,” he added.

As Ukraine is also making bold moves in the Kursk region of Russian territory, it will be interesting to see what impact (literally and figuratively) it will have on the ongoing conflict.