Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte in Kyiv (Picture: NurPhoto/Shutter)
Volodymyr Zelensky hinted at a newly developed Ukrainian ‘drone missile’ that will bring the war back to Russia in a speech marking his country’s independence from the old Soviet Union.
The president said the ‘Palianytsia’ is faster and more powerful than the home-made drones Kyiv has so far been using to strike the Kremlin’s oil refineries and military airfields.
He revealed the new weapon has already been used successfully inside Russia, but would not disclose what the target was.
Marking 33 years of independence, Zelensky said: ‘Our enemy will … know what the Ukrainian way for retaliation is. Worthy, symmetrical, long-ranged.’
He also derided Vladimir Putin, saying the ‘sick old man from Red Square who constantly threatens everyone with the red button will not dictate any of his red lines to us’.
Moscow, which has pummelled Ukraine with thousands of missiles which have destroyed homes, schools and hospitals, has decried Kyiv’s drone strikes as terrorism.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during Russian-Azeri talks at the Zagulba State Residence in Baku, Azerbaijan (Picture: Contributor/Getty Images)
A state of emergency was introduced in Russia”s Voronezh region after a Ukrainian kamikaze drone strike on a massive ammunition warehouse in Ostrogozhsk
Zelensky has been urging allies to give the green light for him to deploy Western weapons deeper inside Russian territory, including airbases housing the warplanes dropping missiles on his citizens.
‘I want to stress once more that our new weapon decisions, including Palianytsia, is our realistic way to act while some of our partners are unfortunately delaying decisions,’ he told reporters.
Ukrainians say the word ‘Palianytsia’, a type of bread, is too difficult to pronounce for Russians and it has been used – sometimes humorously – during the war as a way to tell the two apart.
‘It will be very difficult for Russia, difficult to even pronounce what exactly has hit it,’ Zelensky said of the drone missile.
A Ukrainian military member wrapped in a Ukrainian flag smiles and embraces a woman after returning from Russian captivity (Picture: Global Images Ukraine via Getty)
Independence Day has surged in importance for Ukrainians during the invasion, which has spurred widespread patriotic sentiment.
This year the public holiday took place after the US and German embassies issued warnings of a heightened risk of Russian missile and drone attacks across the country.
There had been no major strikes as of 6pm local time, but the air raid siren sounded in Kyiv late afternoon.
Earlier, Ukraine and Russia also said they had each secured the release of 115 prisoners of war in an exchange.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its freed servicemen had been captured during Ukraine’s attack in the Kursk region.
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