Russia Claims Downing of Long-Range Missile Amid Ukrainian Ballistic Developments

Russia’s defense ministry reported that its air defense systems successfully intercepted a “long-range tactical missile” within the last 24 hours, alongside seven aerial bombs and over 600 drones. However, the ministry did not specify the exact type of missile that was intercepted, and there has been no public acknowledgment from Ukraine regarding the use of ballistic missiles.
Denys Shtylerman, co-owner and chief designer of the Ukrainian defense firm Fire Point, indicated in an interview with Olesya Batsman earlier this June that Ukraine might strike Moscow with the FP-9 ballistic missile either this summer or in early autumn.
If confirmed, such a missile launch would represent a significant advancement in Ukraine’s capacity to conduct long-range strikes using domestically produced weapons, as reported by Bloomberg.
In context, Fire Point has announced plans to develop its ballistic missiles, including models FP-7 and FP-9, which were introduced at an international exhibition in Poland scheduled for September 2025, promising capabilities to target major cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. Furthermore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in December that the Ukrainian military employs five types of domestically manufactured missiles against Russia, including “Neptune,” “Long Neptune,” “Palyanytsia,” “Flamingo,” and “Sapsan.” Fire Point recently demonstrated the FP-7 missile, designed for medium-range targets, on February 27, and reported successful tests of the new FP-7.X ballistic missile in June.



