By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ukrainian authorities say Kyiv has carried out a successful test of its domestically-produced ballistic missile, the first ever.
President Volodymyr Zelensky gave the hint on Tuesday where he said the country’s military achieved the feat recently.
The announcement in the capital, Kyiv came in the wake of two consecutive nights of large-scale Russian bombardments across Ukraine that killed several people and damaged energy infrastructure.
“There has been a positive test of the first Ukrainian ballistic missile. I congratulate our defence industry on this. I can’t share any more details about this missile,” he said at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine has been attempting to develop its own arms industry and encourage military production on its own territory as part of efforts to become less dependent on Western military aid.
Kyiv is ramping up internal measures to defend its territory since the February 24, 2022 invasion by Moscow.
Zelensky said last week that his forces had deployed in combat for the first time a Ukrainian-made long-range “rocket drone” called Palianytsia.
Kyiv has signed agreements with Western arms companies on the production of small arms and ammunition.
