On Saturday, August 24, 2024, in Kyiv, with the participation of foreign guests (including Polish President Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė), the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence was celebrated. During the ceremony, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that a new type of weapon—a hybrid of an unmanned aerial vehicle and a cruise missile called Palianytsia—had made its combat debut in operations against Russia.
Photo: United24
“Today marked the first and successful combat use of our new weapon,” said the President of Ukraine. “This is an entirely new class of weapon—a Ukrainian drone missile called ‘Palianytsia.’ We are preparing several more powerful solutions.”
Although he did not provide details, a Ukrainian attack on an ammunition depot in Russia’s Voronezh region took place on Saturday.
In a video released by the United24 foundation, no tactical or technical details of the new weapon were disclosed. The name “Palianytsia” comes from a traditional Ukrainian wheat bread. Development of the system took a year and a half, and it is intended to destroy the enemy’s offensive capabilities.
https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1827587102541758963
It is known, however, that this is a long-range weapon. It is described as a rocket-powered drone, although it actually has a jet engine. The launch is carried out from a land-based platform. Unofficially, the range is said to be between 600 and 750 km, but this has not been confirmed by official sources.
According to reports, the Palianytsia is designed to combine the aerodynamic capabilities and autonomous control systems of a drone with the cruising speed of a cruise missile. As a result, it can perform complex maneuvers at high cruising speeds, accurately striking targets while remaining difficult to detect by the enemy’s air defense systems.
According to the Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, the number of systems like Palianytsia is expected to increase, along with the number of long-range strike drones, enabling an effective response to modern threats and challenges.
https://twitter.com/AKamyshin/status/1827297265397928014