Ukraine plans to hit Moscow with newly-developed long-range missiles, official claims

Ukraine plans to attack Moscow with newly developed long-range missiles, one of the country’s officials has claimed.

An official in the war-torn country said they planned to eventually hit the Russian capital – over 840 kilometers from the Ukrainian border – and other targets in Russia.

Kiev has had to turn to developing its own long-range missiles after allied supplying countries ruled that they could not be used outside Ukraine’s territory.

Ukraine now plans to use its own modified Neptune anti-ship missiles to attack territory inside Russia.

It comes after Ukraine last week detonated a modified subsonic Neptune missile in Crimea, destroying Russian air defense missiles in a massive blast that also knocked out Russian troops.

One of Neptune’s anti-ship missiles sank the Moskva flagship of Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea Fleet last year.

The new missile is now designed to hit ground targets, with modifications such as changes to the GPS system and vastly increased range.

Last week’s attack with the modified Neptune missile hit a Russian S-400 air defense system in the west of the occupied peninsula, a Ukrainian official told War zone.

One of the anti-ship missiles sank the Moskva flagship of Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea Fleet last year.

The official said last week’s attack on the S-400 system in western Crimea was “100 percent carried out by a modified Neptune.”

They spoke on the condition of anonymity to allow open discussion of operational issues, War Zone reported.

It was initially speculated that Kiev had used a Storm Shadow missile supplied by the British or French with pinpoint accuracy in this deadly attack on Olenivka off Cape Tarkhankut in northwestern Crimea.

But the advanced cruise missile now appears to be the product of its own development.

Russian reports also confirmed the Ukrainian official’s claims, with Telegram channels from the ground appearing to confirm the use of the modified missile within annexed Crimea.

Ukraine has been forced to adapt these weapons to attack targets in Russia after allied countries imposed restrictions on the use of donated weapons outside its territory.

For example, the US has not allowed Kiev to use its supply of highly controversial cluster bombs inside the Ukrainian border.

Ukraine develops its own missiles and also relies on Western munitions such as Storm Shadow and the US HIMARS

The news comes after Russian forces attacked a private company with a long-range cruise missile in the central Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia, injuring three people, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday.

“Unfortunately, there are casualties – three civilians, they are receiving all necessary assistance,” Governor Serhiy Borzov wrote on Telegram Messenger, adding that unspecified property and cars were damaged.

The Kyiv Air Force said it shot down a second missile fired as part of the night attack. The missile was shot down over the central region of Kirovohrad, the local governor said on Telegram.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, regularly carries out airstrikes against Ukrainian centers far from the frontline. Moscow says its attacks are only designed to reduce Ukraine’s ability to fight.

The two missiles reported by Ukrainian officials contrasted with earlier this week, when Ukraine reported the largest Russian missile and drone attack on the capital in months.