The Daily Populous Thursday December 11st, 2025 evening edition
Authored by united24media.com and submitted by UNITED24Media

Ukraine has begun using its domestically built Sapsan ballistic missile in combat against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—public confirmation that Kyiv’s long-awaited homegrown strike weapon is operational, according to The War Zone on December 10.

“Ukraine is already using the Neptune, the long-range Neptune, the Palianytsia, the Flamingo. And also, the Sapsan, I’ll be honest—we’ve begun using it,” Zelenskyy said.

Every article pushes back against disinformation. Your support keeps our team in the field. DONATE NOW

He declined to reveal how many missiles were deployed or what they struck, adding only: “We don’t want the enemy to know all the precedents and all the details.”

Zelenskyy listed four other Ukrainian-made systems already in service: the land-attack Neptune missile, its extended-range “Long Neptune” variant, the Palianytsia rocket-drone, and the very long-range Flamingo cruise missile.

He also hinted at the strategic ambiguity Kyiv now uses as a weapon of its own. “There are many cases when our enemy believes a strike was carried out with a Neptune… And let them continue thinking that,” he noted.

Although no wreckage has publicly confirmed to have been struck by Sapsan inside Russia, the system represents a major capability leap if fully operational:

range: ~300 km confirmed; up to 500 km considered possible;

speed: approx. Mach 5.2, faster than US ATACMS (Mach 3);

warhead: around 480 kg, more than double the ATACMS payload;

launcher: mobile 10-wheel TEL carrying two ballistic missiles.

The Sapsan is based on the long-running Hrim-2 program and functions similarly to Russia’s Iskander-M. As a ballistic missile, it descends at extreme speeds, giving Russian air defenses far less time to react than against cruise missiles or drones.

If produced at scale, the Sapsan would give Ukraine something it has never had before: a sovereign long-range missile capability not subject to foreign permission—and a new tool for hitting high-value military targets deep inside Russia.

Earlier, reports emerged that Ukraine remains the only nation capable of producing the solid rocket fuel needed for its long-range ballistic missile projects.

lAljax on December 11st, 2025 at 09:19 UTC »

Having a good combo of balistic, cruise and drones is quite a tool box. I hope they have the production capacity to keep pressure up.

dimwalker on December 11st, 2025 at 09:19 UTC »

From scarce info provided in article on this missile, looks like range is not too high, but speed and payload are pretty good. If produced in large enough quantity, this thing would be capable of creating a 300km buffer zone inside russia.

Lonely_Noyaaa on December 11st, 2025 at 09:01 UTC »

we still don’t have full independent verification of where these missiles have been used or what they've hit, and Zelensky pointedly didnt disclose numbers or targets. But this announcement alone signals a serious upgrade in Ukraine’s long range strike capabilities