Kyiv: Ukraine prepares to respond to Russian mass attack with homemade weapons

Ukraine is preparing a response with weapons of its own production to the Russian mass attack on August 26, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov wrote on Facebook.

Russia launched its largest attack on Ukraine since the start of the large-scale invasion on August 26, using 127 missiles and 109 drones.

Russian forces attacked 15 oblasts, damaging civilian infrastructure and energy supplies. According to the State Emergency Service, at least seven people were killed and 47 injured, including four children.

“This proves once again that to win we need long-range capabilities and the lifting of restrictions on attacks on enemy military facilities,” Umerov said. “Ukraine is preparing its own response. Weapons of its own production.”

Shortly before, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine had developed a domestically produced missile drone called Palyanytsia. He said it had already been used against Russia.

In his evening speech, Zelensky said he had discussed with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi the defense against the recent Russian mass attack and a possible response by Ukraine to it.

“Any such attack brings us all back to the issue of long-range capability, the need for our defense forces to have enough long-range weapons to be able to destroy terrorists from where they strike,” Zelensky said.

“This is the best anti-terrorist tactic that each of our partners is entitled to and would use for their own protection. Partners from whom we expect solutions,” Zelensky added.

Kyiv has long argued that restrictions on the use of long-range weapons would hamper its war effort. Its Western partners, in turn, believe that allowing Ukraine to penetrate deep into Russian territory with the weapons it supplies could lead to escalation.

In May, the United States authorized Ukraine to use HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, GMLRS missiles and artillery against Russian territory near the Ukrainian border.

However, the US and UK still prohibit Ukraine from using American ATACMS missiles and British Storm Shadow missiles to launch attacks deeper inside Russia.

Ukraine rejected these arguments and increased pressure to lift the ban in the weeks following the Kursk invasion on August 6.

Russia is attacking Ukraine with over 100 missiles and around 100 drones, says Selenskyj

On the morning of August 26, Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine, killing seven people, injuring nearly 50 others, and once again targeting the country's energy infrastructure.