Ukrainian President Zelensky said on the 24th,Ukraine uses domestically produced long-range weapons to strike targets in Russia and no longer discusses such actions with the United States.He said coordination with the United States on such actions was "a long time ago."

The picture shows Ukrainian President Zelensky

US media said on the 23rd that the US Department of Defense has been preventing Ukraine from using the US-made Army tactical missile system to strike targets in Russia. However, the US and Ukrainian officials have not responded to this.

U.S. media reports also pointed out that Ukraine has developed some domestically produced long-range weapons, including drones used to attack Russian oil refineries and aircraft.

A Russian oil refinery caught fire after being attacked, and it has been put out for four consecutive days

Attack on a Russian refinery Source: Central TV News Client

Russian Rostov Governor Yuri Slyushal said on Monday that firefighting work at the state's New Shakhkinsk refinery is still ongoing and the area of the fire has been reduced.In addition to local rescue forces, firefighting personnel from four other areas have been deployed, with a total of 412 staff and 150 equipment.

Sliussal pointed out that the rescue needs to consume a large amount of water, causing water supply disruption in some areas of the population.

According to reports, the Novi Shakhtinsk refinery caught fire after being attacked by Ukrainian troops on August 21.

China News Agency (CNS1952) integrated from central TV news client

Extended reading

Ukraine's test launch of "most successful missile" Expert: May change regional military balance

Ukraine tests firebird missile

Ukraine has tested a 3,000-kilometre-range "Firebird" missile, trying to deter more of Moscow's important targets.

According to a report by Xinhua Agency on August 21, Ukraine's Interfax News Agency reported on the 21st that Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Ukraine has successfully test-fired the "Flamingo" long-range missile. The missile has a flying range of more than 3000 kilometers and is "the most successful missile currently owned by Ukraine."

What is the performance of Ukraine's "most successful missile"?

The missile has already been noticed and discussed by the outside world on August 18, according to the World Wide Web, citing the Ukrainian Independent newspaper and other media reports on August 18, there are reports that a new missile named "Firebird" developed independently by Ukraine has been put into mass production, the missile has a range of more than 3,000 kilometers.

The Associated Press reported that the missile was named "Flamingo" because something happened to the first batch of produced missiles, which caused the missile to eventually turn pink, similar in color to the flamingo. Finally, the missile was simply named "Flamingo".

The "Firebird" missile adopted mechanical launches

At that time, the Ukrainian military did not comment on the above news, and Ukrainian officials did not publicly confirm the existence of the missile. It was not until Zelensky's statement on the 21st that the missile was officially made public.

According to the report, the missile has a range of more than 3,000 kilometers and a bullethead weight of up to 1 ton, and it is said that the missile has completed real-world tests, performance is stable, and the monthly production capacity is expected to reach 50 units, starting from the end of December this year or January next year.

Judging from photos released by Ukraine, the "Flamingo" is a cruise missile. A pair of flat wings of large size are arranged in the middle of the cylindrical body. A solid rocket booster to boost take-off is equipped under the body. The engine is mounted above the tail of the missile. The missile is launched on a simple guide rail, and the launcher can be mounted on a truck and has certain mobility.

An article published on the U.S. military website "Theater" stated that the "Flamingo" missile is very similar to a large cruise missile called FP-5. The Million Group exhibited the FP-5 large cruise missile at the Abu Dhabi International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) in February this year. The missile's performance was disclosed at the air show. It has a wingspan of 6 meters, a range of 3000 kilometers, a weight of 6 tons, a warhead of about 1 ton, and a maximum flying speed of 900 kilometers/hour. It adopts inertial navigation +GPS guidance and has a launch preparation time of 20 minutes-40 minutes.

Military expert Korean East analyzes that from the "Firebird" shape, guidance and aerodynamic layout, the missile is the product of cost and technical compromise in the situation of Ukraine during the war, is a simple cruise missile, such as the ballistic wing does not use folding design, the engine is also placed outside the ammunition, and the guidance mode is only GPS + inertia navigation.

"While advanced cruise missiles typically use folded ballistic wings, can be mounted in the launch box or launch tube, the engine will also be integrated into the ammunition, guided methods in addition to routine and satellite navigation, usually also the terrain matching guided or image matching guided," said Han Dong, "so the missile can fly in ultra-low air and have a stronger resistance to interference and command accuracy, such as the popular "Tax" cruise missiles use the aforementioned many advanced designs and equipment."

"The design and positioning of the 'Flamingo' missile are in line with Ukraine's wartime situation. The aerodynamic layout design is relatively simple, the cost is low, and it is easy to mass-produce in a short period of time. It is what the Ukrainian defense industry can mass-produce at present and is more powerful than suicide drones. After all, Russia has been continuously attacking Ukraine's defense industry." Han Dong said.

Why is Ukraine announced at this time?

At present, U.S.-Russia and Europe are in intense communication for a ceasefire or a peace agreement, and Ukraine's move to announce the "most successful missiles" at this time has sparked external discussions.

According to the Economist, the Ukrainian photographer Lukácski, who shot the missile, said the missile had entered mass production, marking a significant step forward in the development of domestic missiles in Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian media, the "Firebird" missile has the capability to cover most important military targets in Russia, including 70 out of 90 air bases, as well as major missile and drone production facilities, highlighting Ukraine's significant progress in defense independent development.

An article published in the Kiev Independent pointed out that from the perspective of national defense strategy, Ukraine's domestic long-range weapons are crucial, and Ukraine continues to expand the production of domestic weapons. Earlier, it was reported that a missile independently developed by Ukraine had completed actual combat testing and was undergoing mass production. However, it is unclear when the missile will be put into the battlefield.

This is the second major achievement of the official public missile development of Ukraine.According to Central Television News last August, Ukrainian President Zelensky told the media on 27 (the same month) that the Ukrainian military industrial complex has successfully developed the first domestic ballistic missile and successfully completed the test.But he declined to disclose any details about the missile.

In fact, before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine had demonstrated a modern cruise missile similar to the "Tax", which was named the "Tax", which looks very similar to the "Tax" missile.

Ukraine officials have not announced the model and performance of the first missile. An article published on the U.S. military website "Theater of War" believes that the missile may be the "Thunder-2" ballistic missile previously announced by Ukraine. The missile began to be developed after 2014. The rocket engine used in the missile began testing in 2018. It is very similar in shape to the Russian "Iskander-M" tactical ballistic missile, with a maximum range of more than 500 kilometers.

The "Flamingo" missile is indeed a weapon of great significance to Ukraine. The "Theater" article pointed out that if the "Flamingo" missile is produced in batches, it will provide Ukraine with a new and very valuable means to target key locations in Russia in a more destructive way. The missile's jet-powered design also provides speed and survivability advantages to penetrate deep into Russian territory, especially compared to the modified light aircraft and other long-range drones that Ukraine now relies on for such strikes. The Flamingo missile is faster and has greater penetration capabilities.

"The 1-ton warhead is also relatively powerful. With the support of Western technology, it is likely to integrate military-grade GPS guidance for this missile. It has stronger anti-jamming capabilities, higher navigation accuracy, and a hit accuracy of within 5 meters. Within, it has strong precision strike capabilities." Han Dong said.

"Ukraine's disclosure of this missile at this time also sends a deterrent signal, that is, if the fight continues, Ukraine's long-range strike will cause greater losses to Russia." Han Dong analyzed that.

The "Theater of War" article believed that at the strategic level,"Flamingo" could provide Ukraine with a valuable additional bargaining chip because it could threaten Russia's vast region. As a domestically produced weapon, Ukraine's military will have more freedom to use missiles to attack targets in Russia. Western countries have intermittently restricted Ukraine from using the ammunition they provide to attack targets in Russia, and have otherwise pressured Ukraine not to hit certain categories of targets.

¡°Russia should also be very concerned about this missile and will try to strike the missile production plant and deployment base, while also targeting the domestic air defense deployment, so the battlefield performance and strategic significance of the missile remains to be further observed,¡± he said.