Ukraine has successfully tested its own ballistic missile, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as it seeks to turn the tide of war against Russia with more advanced weapons.
Zelensky made the announcement Tuesday at a forum in Kiev, but gave no further details beyond congratulating Ukraine’s defense industry on the project.
The military has hinted at such weapons in the past.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Monday, after a massive barrage of Russian drones and missiles, that Ukraine has developed its own long-range weapons.
Last weekend, Zelensky unveiled another Ukrainian-made weapon: the jet-powered, high-speed Palyanytsya combat drone.
Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets were deployed this week to defend against the heavy Russian attacks, Zelensky said on Tuesday.
He again urged allies to lift restrictions on the use of weapons supplied by Ukraine, such as long-range missiles that can hit targets deep inside Russian territory.
Ukraine informs NATO about air defense needs
NATO will meet with Umerov via video link to discuss the country’s air defence needs in response to recent heavy Russian airstrikes.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the meeting for Wednesday at the request of Ukraine’s Farah Dakhlallah, an alliance spokesman said in a statement.
The meeting, hosted by ambassadors of NATO allies, follows deadly Russian attacks on civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine on Monday and Tuesday, Dakhlallah said.
Umerov will brief representatives of the allies “on the situation on the battlefield and priority capability needs,” Dakhlallah said, adding that NATO “is determined to further strengthen Ukraine’s defense.”
Zelensky: Dialogue with Putin would be ‘pointless’
Zelensky also said in Kiev on Tuesday that peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be “empty” and “meaningless.”
“The world is waiting for Ukraine to present a compromise plan tomorrow on how to end the war,” he said.
“It is not that there are no compromises with Putin, but the dialogue with Putin today is empty and meaningless, because he does not want to end the war diplomatically,” Zelensky argued.
Putin may be willing to engage in diplomatic negotiations, Zelensky said, but he is making it a condition that Kiev recognizes Russia’s seizure of 30% of Ukrainian territory.
“We will not play along with him,” Zelensky added.
The Ukrainian president said his troops’ advance into the southern Russian region of Kursk three weeks ago silenced Kiev’s critics.
Ukraine laid out its own path to peace at a summit in Switzerland in June. The plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from all areas of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula. Russia would also agree to pay reparations and hold its political and military leaders accountable before an international court.
Hundreds of Russian prisoners since the beginning of the Kursk advance
The Ukrainian army has captured nearly 600 prisoners since the start of the advance on Kursk, Commander-in-Chief Olexsandr Syrskyi said on Tuesday.
Ukraine has significantly replenished its prisoner exchange fund, the general said at the conference in Kiev, according to media reports.
After three weeks, his forces had taken control of 100 villages and nearly 1,300 square kilometers of Russian territory, Syrskyi said.
Military observers assume that the area is not that big. Also, Ukrainian soldiers would not be able to control their rear lines everywhere after such a rapid advance, they say.
Russia has now sent nearly 30,000 troops to the Kursk region to defend against the Ukrainian advance, and more are on the way, Syrskyi said.
In this regard, the Ukrainian plan is working, as Moscow needs to move troops to the Kursk region, he said.
But Russian attacks, especially in the Donetsk region where the Ukrainian army is under heavy pressure, have not abated.
