From: axios by Colin Demarest
Military analysts are buzzing online about a new, secretive Ukrainian weapon that blurs the line between missile and drone. Why it matters: The Palianytsia, named after a Ukrainian bread, highlights the country’s wartime ingenuity, with from-scratch design and production taking 18 months.
- It also sidesteps prohibitions on using Western weapons to strike deep into Russia.
- “We’ve not even allowed the Ukrainians to fight under the circumstances that we would allow ourselves,” George Barros, the Russia team lead at the Institute for the Study of War, told me. “Palianytsia is the Ukrainian response to Western feet-dragging.”
Driving the news: President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that “our new weapon” had been used for the first time in combat.
- A video he shared on X described Palianytsia as a “long-range rocket drone” launched from the ground. Its maker and warhead were labeled secret.
- The same clip displayed two dozen Russian airfields within Palianytsia’s purported range while also criticizing foreign governments for dictating how their arms could be used in an existential fight.
The intrigue: In an era of easily accessible frontline footage and Instagram-ready montages, even the closest watchers of the Russia-Ukraine war are short on details.
- Search “Palianytsia” on X and unfurl the threads; there are more questions than answers. Was it used here? Why call it a rocket drone? Will it make a difference?
Voice of Ukraine 