Ukraine Carries Out Successful Test of First Ballistic Missile: Zelensky

Ukraine has successfully carried out its first domestically produced ballistic missile test launch, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.

"It may be too early to talk about it, but I want to share it with you," the president said at a press conference at the Ukraine 2024 Independence Forum in Kyiv.

Zelensky praised the Ukrainian defense industry for the achievement, although he remained tight-lipped on the project and did not disclose any information on the weaponry.

The Ukrainian president said that Ukraine can produce up to 1.5 to 2 million drones this year but currently lacks the monetary funding.

The announcement comes as Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the country is manufacturing weapons to counter Russian drone strikes.

"This once again proves that for victory, we need long-range capabilities and the lifting of restrictions on strikes on the enemy's military facilities," he said.

"Ukraine is preparing its response. Weapons of its own production."

Kyiv has received several long-range missiles from Western allies, such as the U.S.-made ATACMS. However, their impact is limited by Western restrictions on strikes deep within Russian territory.

Victoria Vdovychenko, program director for security studies at the Centre for Defense Strategies, a Ukrainian security think tank, told Newsweek that the country is "at the forefront of drone and defense technology development."

"Ukrainian companies are involved in the production of self-propelled units, UAVs, and anti-drone rifles and work closely with the military. This progress is happening under the auspices of the Ministry of Strategic Industries and the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

"Ukraine is gradually evolving into a sort of 'military Silicon Valley', akin to the U.S. Silicon Valley, but within a military-industrial context.

"Ukrainian entrepreneurs, military personnel, volunteers, and international partners are working together to create these innovations."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian general Oleksandr Syrskyi said Kyiv's troops have seized 1,294 sq km (500 sq miles) of Russian territory and have taken captive 594 prisoners of war.

Syrskyi said that one of the objectives of the Kursk operation was to pull away Russian troops from other areas, primarily from Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.

"The Kursk operation diverted a significant number of its forces," he said, adding that Russian troops had been drawn from Ukraine's south. "As of now, we can say that around 30,000 servicemen have been sent to the Kursk front, and this figure is growing."

Pokrovsk is a key defensive stronghold for Ukraine against Russia's offensive and is a crucial logistics hub in the eastern region of Donbas.

Earlier this month, Ukraine ordered families with children to evacuate Pokrovsk amid fears that Russian troops are about to bear down on the city.

Russian troops have been pushing toward Pokrovsk for months after a six-month slog across Ukraine's Donetsk region following the capture of Avdiivka.

It has been three weeks since Kyiv's surprise attack on the Kursk border region after thousands of Ukrainian soldiers penetrated through the Russian border and launched an offensive deep behind enemy lines.

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov issued a stark warning to the United States in the latest exchange of barbs between both superpowers.

"We are now confirming once again that playing with fire—and they are like small children playing with matches—is a very dangerous thing for grown-up uncles and aunts who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday.

"Americans unequivocally associate conversations about the Third World War as something that, God forbid, if it happens, will affect Europe exclusively," Lavrov said.

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