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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a large-scale attack on Russia included a weapon called the “Pelican” for the first time, prompting military analysts to question whether it is a tactical ballistic missile or a drone.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said long-range strikes on the Moscow region had a “very significant impact”. He listed the “Pelican” alongside several other Ukrainian systems, including “FP-1”, “RZ-100”, “MICH-2000”, “Palianytsia”, “Vendetta”, “Liutyi”, “Bars”, “Flamingo” and “Sichen”.
The attack, carried out on the final day of voting in Russia’s parliamentary elections, killed at least three people. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 1,600 drones had been intercepted, including 450 heading towards the capital, according to Al Jazeera.
Why the Pelican’s identity is unclear
At the 34th International Defence Industry Exhibition in Poland last week, the head of Ukrainian defence company “Fire Point” said Ukraine could begin deploying its FP-7 tactical ballistic missile against Russia within weeks, The Kyiv Post reported.
Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh said the weapon could hit targets up to 200 kilometres away and carry a warhead weighing as much as 150 kilograms. The ground-launched system has a maximum projectile speed of 1,500 metres per second.
Fire Point founder and chief designer Denys Shtilerman previously said the system was cheaper than the US-made “ATACMS” surface-to-surface ballistic missile. Zelenskyy said last month that Ukraine expected to use its first domestically produced ballistic missile in the autumn.
There is no official confirmation that the FP-7 and the “Pelican” are the same weapon. Ukrainian media, including The Kyiv Post, have linked the two systems.
The New Voice of Ukraine reported that “Fire Point”, which also produces the FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missile, had applied earlier this year to register the “Pelican” trademark. However, RBC-Ukraine, citing unnamed sources, described the “Pelican” as an aircraft-type drone.
The reports could not be independently verified by Al Jazeera.
Ukraine expands domestic weapons production
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said in February that the country’s domestic weapons industry had experienced “unprecedented growth”, with production capacity rising 50-fold to $50 billion.
The ministry said domestic manufacturers now supply more than half of the weapons and military equipment required by Ukraine’s Defence Forces.
Zelenskyy also said that military counterintelligence officers at the Security Service of Ukraine had developed an interceptor drone that had been successfully used against Iranian-made “Shahed” drones operated by Russia.
In March, former Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said interceptor drones had destroyed more than 70% of “Shahed”-type attack drones in February.
Strikes on infrastructure intensify
Russia and Ukraine have increased attacks on each other’s infrastructure, including oil facilities and logistics hubs.
Ukraine has also repeatedly targeted warehouses linked to Russia’s “Wildberries” e-commerce company since July. The attacks have been described as attempts to disrupt Moscow’s supply chains and damage the Russian economy.
The Financial Times reported on Monday that US President Donald Trump had spoken with Zelenskyy on Sunday and urged him to stop attacking Russian refineries, citing concerns that the strikes were worsening a global diesel shortage and pushing up fuel prices.
