Ukraine issues update on new long range missile
A new Ukrainian-developed ballistic missile has passed flight tests, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, as Kyiv ramps up investment in its domestic weapons production more than two-and-a-half years into the war with Moscow.
Ukraine relies on Western aid deliveries to keep its missile arsenal stocked but has heavily invested in its homegrown weapons production and defense industry as its grueling war against Russia has continued.Zelensky's remarks this week likely refer to the Hrim-2, a missile long in development though to have an estimated range of around 500 kilometers, or just over 300 miles, Parakilas said.
This is "not enough to hit Moscow," Parakilas said, but it is a long enough range to threaten key Russian sites like air bases, ammunition storage sites or other military facilities from Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said earlier this week that domestic weapons production had tripled in 2023 and then doubled in the first eight months of 2024.
The Ukrainian government will set aside an additional $7 billion in next year's state budget to buy weapons and other military equipment, Shmyhal said. This is an increase of around 65 percent, he added.
In the first six months of this year, Ukraine produced 25 times more artillery and mortar ammunition compared to the output for the whole of 2022, Zelensky said on Tuesday. Kyiv is able to produce up to 20 new howitzers, referred to as Bohdana systems, each month, the Ukrainian leader said.
