On the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine’s post-Soviet independence, Volodymyr Zelensky announced a new weapon developed by Kiev.
According to the Ukrainian president, the new Palyanitsya drone missile is much faster and more powerful than the drones that Kyiv has used so far to counter Russian aggression.
“Our enemy will learn what Ukrainian-style retribution is. Decent, symmetrical, long-range,” he said.
Zelensky stressed that “a new type of Ukrainian weapon has already been successfully used to strike a target in Russia,” but did not say where exactly.
Using mocking language, he described the 71-year-old Russian president and the “nuclear rhetoric” coming from Moscow.
“The sick old man from Red Square, who constantly threatens everyone with the red button, will not dictate to us about his ‘red lines,'” Zelensky said during a video address on Telegram. “How to live, which path to take and what choice to make, only Ukraine and Ukrainians will determine for themselves.”
Russia, which has been attacking Ukraine with thousands of missiles and drones since its February 2022 invasion, has called the Ukrainian drone strikes “terrorism” even as Russian forces have steadily advanced in eastern Ukraine and now occupy about 18% of the country.
Zelensky is seeking permission from Kyiv’s allies to use Western weapons deep inside Russian territory, for example to strike air bases used by Russian warplanes that bomb Ukraine with missiles and glide bombs.
“I want to emphasize once again that our new weapons, including the Palyanitsya missile, are our real way to act, while some of our partners, unfortunately, are slow in making decisions,” Zelensky emphasized at a press conference.
“Palyanytsya” – a type of Ukrainian bread – is a word that is too difficult for Russian speakers to pronounce. Sometimes during the war it was used to expose Russian saboteurs.
“It will be very difficult for Russia… it is difficult even to pronounce [название того]“that flew to them,” Zelensky said about the new missile.
Zelensky issued a decree conferring the rank of army general to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, in praise of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ offensive operation in Russia’s Kursk region. Moscow viewed the operation as “an escalation and a major provocation.”
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the celebration of Independence Day has taken on special significance for Ukrainians and has sparked a surge of patriotism.
This year, Ukraine’s national holiday came after the US and German embassies warned of an increased risk of Russian missile and drone strikes.
To mark the date, Zelensky ratified the Rome Statute, paving the way for Ukraine to participate in the International Criminal Court, one of many steps needed to join the European Union, which Kyiv sees as a priority.
Zelensky also signed the Law on the Banning of Activities of Religious Groups Linked to Russia, creating a legal instrument that allows the government to ban the Russian Orthodox Church.
Earlier, Ukraine and Russia reported that they had exchanged prisoners of war – 115 for 115. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the servicemen freed by Kiev were captured during the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region.
