Ukraine conflict: Zelensky hands over first ‘Hell' cruise missile able to strike deep into Russia

A screenshot of a video posted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on 6 December, showing the first batch of Peklo (Hell) domestically developed and built long-range cruise missiles. (Office of the Ukrainian President)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has officially handed over the first batch of Peklo (Hell) domestically developed and built long-range cruise missiles to the country's armed forces.

The president announced the development from his official X (formerly Twitter) account on 6 December, saying that the missile that puts Moscow within range is now being geared up for full-scale production and operational use.

“The ‘Peklo' (Hell) drone-missile – our Ukrainian weapon with proven combat effectiveness. Today, the first batch was delivered to our defence forces. The mission now is to scale up production and deployment,” he said.

Zelensky did not disclose performance specifications for the turbojet-powered cruise missile, but Ukrainian media with links to the defence forces noted it can fly 700 km at a speed of 700 km/h.

For more information on Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle developments, please see Summa Defence partners with Ukrainian firms for ‘industrial-scale' UAV production .