Peklo to Palyanytsia: Ukraine’s expanded long-range arsenal is changing the war
By 2026, the Defense Forces of Ukraine already had at their disposal several types of long-range cruise missiles and so-called missile-drones — ranging from the Long Neptune and Flamingo to the Palyanytsia, Peklo, Bars, and the European-designed Ruta. This year, their use has only intensified. Russia’s Defense Ministry, for example, has claimed that it intercepted more than 90 Flamingo missiles…
On April 14, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorated the country's Weapons Industry Workers Day with a video address highlighting some of the nation's newest weapons. These included 56 systems already in production, being supplied to military forces, or used in combat. Such systems blurred the line between cruise missiles and drones, as demonstrated by the Flamingo, Ruta, Peklo, Neptune, and Palyanytsia weapon systems.
Flamingo was categorized as a long-range ground-launched cruise missile, while Ruta was described as a cruise missile-drone. Peklo was termed a jet-powered "missiledrone," and Palyanytsia was labeled a long-range missile-drone. Bars, a cruise missile-drone with a turbojet engine, was classified as a long-range drone, but developers viewed it more accurately as a missile.
The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) classified Bars as a cruise missile. The Maritime Territorial Defense Force's (MTDF) Flamingo, for instance, measures up to 3,000 kilometers in range and carries a 1,150-kilogram warhead. Despite the advertised specifications, Flamingo's effectiveness has been questioned. In April 2026, Dnipro OSINT reviewed 23 confirmed Flamingo launches, with only 6 reaching their targets and 2 achieving direct hits.
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