Ukraine Successfully Tests Its First Domestically-Produced Ballistic Missile, Says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday announced Kyiv's first ever successful test of a domestically-produced ballistic missile. He also lauded the Ukrainian defence industry for it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Kyiv has successfully carried out its first successful test of a domestically-produced ballistic missile. The announcement came as Russia carried out its "most massive" strike across Ukraine on Monday, killing seven people and leaving the country's energy infrastructure crippled.

"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," news agency AFP quoted him as saying at a press conference in Kyiv. 

As per the report, Kyiv has been attempting to develop arms indigenously in a bid to become less dependent on the military aid provided by the West, with which it has signed agreements on production of small arms and ammunition. Last week, Zelenskyy had stated that his military forces gad deployed in combat Ukraine-made long-range "rocket drone," named Palianytsia. 

On August 26, Russia had launched over 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine, claiming the lives of five people. Three people were killed in Lutsk, one in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, while another one died in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast.

Following the attack, there were several reports of power cuts and water supply outages in the country. The Monday attack by Moscow is said to be one of the most intense salvos in weeks which came as Kyiv is carrying out a major incursion into Russia's Kursk region. Local authorities also informed about explosions in Ukraine's northwestern city of Lutsk where an apartment block was damaged.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the Russian forces fired drones, cruise missiles, and hypersonic ballistic Kinzhal missiles at 15 Ukrainian regions spanning more than half the country. He said that the power infrastructure was hit once again adding that Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator, Ukrenergo, has been forced to implement emergency power cuts to stabilise the system.

US President Joe Biden condemned the strikes, calling them "outrageous". Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that the attack caused a "lot of damage in the energy sector".