Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that his military had recently carried out the first successful test of a domestically-produced ballistic missile.
His announcement in Kyiv came in the wake of two consecutive nights of large-scale Russian bombardments across Ukraine that killed several people and battered energy infrastructure.
“There has been a positive test of the first Ukrainian ballistic missile. I congratulate our defence industry on this. I can’t share any more details about this missile,” he said at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital.
Zelensky also said that his military deployed Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets to down drones and missiles that Russia fired in recent attacks.
Zelensky announced earlier this month that Ukraine had received the first batch of the fighter jets promised by Western countries, declining to say how many had been delivered.
“We destroyed already some missiles and drones using the F-16,” Zelensky said in English at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday, without elaborating.
He said at the press conference that Ukraine still needed more jets.
He told AFP in May that Kyiv needed at least 120 to achieve “parity” with Russia.
For more than two years, Ukraine had pleaded with its Western partners for the aircraft – long considered the crown jewel in the sprawling list of military hardware Kyiv has sought.
Ukraine has been attempting to develop its own arms industry and encourage military production on its own territory as part of efforts to become less dependent on Western military aid.
Zelensky said last week that his forces had deployed in combat for the first time a Ukrainian-made long-range “rocket drone” called Palianytsia.
Kyiv has signed agreements with Western arms companies on the production of small arms and ammunition.
With AFP
