By Jon Jackson
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday confirmed reports that his country has developed its own long-range weapons.
"A successful use of our long-range weapons: A target was hit 700 kilometers away," Zelensky said during a conference call with Kyiv officials, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Ukraine's allies in NATO have been instrumental in outfitting Zelensky's military during its war against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces, but they have mostly been reluctant to provide long-range weapons.
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Analysts have speculated that the hesitance to provide such weapons to Kyiv could come from fear of escalation on the part of Russia if strikes occur on its territory using Western-supplied weapons. Russian officials have also warned that the provision of longer-ranged weapons would be considered a "red line" by Moscow.
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Earlier this year, the United Kingdom became the first country to provide Ukraine with longer-range missiles in the form of Storm Shadow missiles. In July, France announced it would send Kyiv dozens of SCALP missiles, which are the French version of Storm Shadows. Both versions have a range of about 200 kilometers (124 miles).
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have pressed the United States to send Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) that have a range of 300km (186 miles). The Biden administration is said to be considering sending these surface-to-surface ballistic missile systems to Kyiv but has yet to approve the move.
"NATO weapons are better, but we have less of them. And if it is less, then there should be at least a long-range balance. We lack this," Zelensky during a video appearance at the July 21 Aspen Security Forum.
Zelensky on Thursday didn't specify what target had been hit at a range of 700 kilometers (400 miles), but an airport in Russia's Pskov region was hit as part of a large assault Wednesday that included targets in six regions as well as Crimea. The airport is about 700 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
The Ukrainian leader also didn't specify what type of long-range weapons were used, but drones were believed to be used in the Pskov strike. However, it's possible he could have been referring to domestically produced long-range missiles, such as the ones reportedly used during an attack on Russian targets in Crimea last week.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told local media that a new, Ukraine-produced missile destroyed a Russian S-400 launcher during the strike on Crimea.
The Kyiv Post on Wednesday wrote that Ukraine could have used a R-360 Neptune anti-ship cruise missile that was modified to give it a longer range to take out the S-400.
Update, 8/31/23, 11:50 a.m. ET: The headline on this article was amended for clarity.
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