The Palianytsia, Ukraine’s long-range rocket drone, could become a game changer for the Ukrainian military’s ability to strike Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced yesterday on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that Ukraine successfully carried out its first combat mission using the Palianytsia long-range rocket drone. He explained that this domestically developed weapon weakened the enemy’s attack capabilities.
Zelenskyy emphasized that the production of these rocket drones will increase, similar to the production of long-range attack drones. He expressed confidence that their effectiveness will be evident daily.
In a video speech delivered to mark the 33rd anniversary of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Zelenskyy claimed that they successfully attacked targets in Russia using the Palianytsia. He noted that this new drone is faster and more powerful than the previous domestically produced drones Ukraine has used against Russian oil refineries and military airfields.
Zelenskyy emphasized on X that over the past two and a half years of full-scale war, Russia has fired approximately 10,000 missiles of various types and over 33,000 glide bombs. He stressed that to prevent such attacks on Ukrainian cities, it is essential to target Russian aircraft at their bases and military airfields.
The video shared by Zelenskyy on X shows the Palianytsia drone launching from the ground using a turbojet engine, with 24 Russian military airfields within its range. The Ukrainian government invested in developing this drone through a subsidy program for civilian rocket projects and relaxing simulation regulations. It completed its development in just a year and a half. The video’s message is clear: the Palianytsia’s mission is to destroy the enemy’s attack capabilities within their territory to protect Ukrainian civilians.
In a press conference the previous day, Zelenskyy stated that the decision to deploy new weapons like the Palianytsia is a practical step that Ukraine can take, especially as some partner countries delay their decisions on the use of Western-supported weapons against Russian territory. He added that these new weapons would pose significant difficulty for Russia, even though they might struggle to identify what exactly struck them.
Reuters reported that the term “Palianytsia” is a type of Ukrainian bread. Ukrainians humorously use it to distinguish themselves from Russians, who often struggle to pronounce the word correctly.
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