▲ Employees of Ukrainian defense startup Firepoint inspect the Flamingo cruise missile. (The photo above is not related to the content of the article.)
Claims have emerged that Ukraine has launched a newly developed domestic ballistic missile toward Russia.
According to the British daily The Telegraph, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on the 20th (local time) that the Ukrainian military deployed "Pelican" ballistic missiles in an attack on Moscow, Russia.
The Pelican missile is a ground-launched FP-7 ballistic missile developed by Ukrainian defense firm Firepoint, with a reported range of up to 200 kilometers.
This marks the first time Ukraine has confirmed the operational use of this missile in combat.
Zelenskyy claimed that the Ukrainian military began using domestically produced short-range ballistic missiles starting last December, but The Telegraph noted that there has been little evidence that these missiles have entered mass production.
Because Ukraine has largely relied on foreign-supplied ballistic missiles such as the U.S.-made ATACMS, the combat deployment of a domestically produced ballistic missile is significant in expanding its long-range strike capabilities.
In a statement released that day, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that it had shot down approximately 1,900 Ukrainian-launched drones, 8 guided aerial bombs, 8 cruise missiles, and 4 rockets overnight.
If the Russian military's announcement is accurate, this would be the largest single-scale attack launched by the Ukrainian military in the current war.
The attack resulted in at least three deaths and damaged a major oil refinery located in the Moscow region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed, "This attack was clearly designed to disrupt the elections," adding, "The enemy did not succeed."
That day marked the final day of the first general election held by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Four Ukrainian regions that Russia has declared annexed but does not fully control were also included as voting districts.
Ukraine has not issued a separate official stance regarding the Russian general election.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the primary target of the attack was the Moscow oil refinery operated by the Russian state-owned oil company Gazprom Neft.
This facility is one of the largest oil refineries in Russia in terms of processing capacity.
Meanwhile, Russia is continuing its airstrikes against Ukraine.
Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, stated that early that morning, an attack by the Russian military resulted in the deaths of three children and one woman.
President Zelenskyy stated that Russia has launched more than 2,000 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 19 missiles just this week alone.
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