President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Saturday the existence and the first use of Ukraine’s new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV/drone) which he said has been named Palyanytsya.
“Just today, the first and successful combat use of our new weapon took place. It's an absolutely new class of weapon –the Ukrainian Palyanytsya missile/drone. This is our new method of retaliating against the aggressor. The enemy was hit. I thank everyone who provided it: all developers, manufacturers, and our warriors. I'm proud of you,” Zelensky said.
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The existence of a long-range jet-propelled kamikaze drone had been rumored for some time after images of the debris ofa jet powered flying wing drone was shared on Russian social media in June. The military technology expert HI Sutton,writing on the Covert Shores website, produced his assessment of the make-up and capability of that drone.
Other images and video have appeared on both Ukrainian and Russian social media that shows the test flight of a rather different design of jet-powered drone which has a more traditional configuration.
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Although Zelensky’s announcement of the use of the new “missile drone” coincided with an attack on an ammunition warehouse in the Voronezh region the night before, Ukraine's Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said the Palyanytsya had not yet been used inside Russia.
Kamyshin said: “It is both a drone and a missile… and there will be more missile drones, just as there are already more long-range attack drones… it is the next step in the evolution of Ukrainian defense tech. We were looking forward to the moment when we [can] demonstrate its effectiveness to the enemy.”
Ukraine has been working intensively on developing its own long-range weapons as its allies still impose restrictions on the use of Western-supplied missiles on Russian soil, such as the US ATACMS and the Anglo-French Storm Shadow / EG Scalp cruise missiles.
This week alone, modified Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles were said to have struck the Conroe Trader fuel carrying ferry near Crimea and a Russian base in the Kursk region, as well as an S-300 air defense system in the Rostov Region.
Ukraine has also carried out attacks using conventional long-range drones in Crimea and Tatarstan, as well as the Olenya airfield some 1,800 kilometers (1,125 miles) away from the border with Ukraine.
What’s in a name?
The choice of Palyanytsya as the name for the UAV showsthat someone has a sense of humor. It is the name of a traditional, round, hearth-baked wheat bread often eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
It is also a word that many Russians struggle to pronounce correctly and a way to identify Russian saboteurs. It was also said to have become a frequent password at roadblocks and check points.
During World War II, legend has it that the Dutch resistance could identify German spies because they were unable topronounce the name of the town of Scheveningen.
Russians may still not be able to pronounce it, but Ukrainians hope they will soon understand Palyanytsya’s new meaning with full force.
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