President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Saturday the existence and first use of Ukraine’s new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV/drone), which he said is named Palyanytsya.
“Only today was the first successful combat use of our new weapon. It is a completely new class of weapon – the Ukrainian Palyanytsya missile/drone. This is our new method of retaliation against the aggressor. The enemy was hit. I thank everyone who provided it: all the developers, manufacturers and our warriors. I am proud of you,” said Zelensky.
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The existence of a long-range jet-powered kamikaze drone has been around for some time, after images of the wreckage of a jet-powered flying wing drone were posted on Russian social media in June. Military technology expert HI Sutton has given his assessment of the drone’s makeup and capabilities on the website Covert Shores.
More images and videos have emerged on social media in Ukraine and Russia showing the test flight of a jet-powered drone of a completely different design, but with a more traditional configuration.
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Although Zelensky’s announcement of the deployment of the new “rocket drone” coincided with an attack on an ammunition depot in the Voronezh region the previous evening, Ukrainian Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin said that the Palyanytsya had not yet been used in Russia.
Kamyshin said: “It is both a drone and a missile… and there will be more missile drones, just as there are already more long-range attack drones… it is the next step in the development of Ukrainian defense technology. We have been looking forward to the moment when we can demonstrate their effectiveness to the enemy.”
Ukraine is working hard to develop its own long-range weapons, as its allies continue to restrict the use of missiles from Western countries on Russian soil. These include the US ATACMS missiles and the British-French Storm Shadow/EG Scalp cruise missiles.
This week alone, modified Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles are said to have hit the Conroe Trader fuel ferry near Crimea, a Russian base in the Kursk region, and an S-300 air defense system in the Rostov region.
In addition, Ukraine has carried out attacks using conventional long-range drones in Crimea and Tatarstan, as well as at the Olenya airfield, about 1,800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
What’s in a name?
The choice of Palyanytsya as the name for the UAV shows that someone has a sense of humor. It is the name of a traditional, round, oven-baked wheat bread, often eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
Many Russians also have difficulty pronouncing this word correctly, and it is used as a means of identifying Russian saboteurs. It is also said to have become a commonly used password at roadblocks and checkpoints.
According to legend, the Dutch resistance movement during World War II was able to identify German spies because they could not pronounce the name of the city of Scheveningen.
Russians may not be able to pronounce the name yet, but Ukrainians hope that they will soon fully understand the new meaning of “Palyanytsya”.
