Ukraine may now be able to strike Russia’s capital with a homemade ‘Long Neptune’ missile it claims to have successfully used in combat.

Long reliant on foreign military aid for missile supplies, Ukraine was restricted in where it could fire weapons like Atacms, for fear of sparking escalation.

Until November, the USA had banned it from striking targets within Russian territory, leaving it to Ukrainian-made drones to hit the factories and bases fuelling Vladimir Putin’s war effort.

With the new US President Donald Trump withdrawing military aid to Ukraine, the country has become increasingly desperate to boost its own domestic weapons production capabilities.

Cue the so-called ‘Long Neptune’, which ‘has been tested and successfully used in combat’, President Volodymyr Zelensky said today.

Originally designed as an anti-ship missile, it has a range of 1,000km – double that of Britain’s Storm Shadow, hundreds of which have been supplied to Ukraine.

That’s far enough to strike Moscow, Russia’s capital city, roughly 842km away from Ukraine’s border.

Crucially, Ukraine won’t have to rely on the sometimes unreliable support of foreign allies, because Long Neptune is made in Ukraine by Luch Design Bureau.

Zelensky said: ‘Thank you to our Ukrainian developers, manufacturers and military. We continue to work to guarantee Ukrainian security.’

Where the new missile was used has not been officially confirmed, but there has been some speculation online.

Tens of explosions turned a major oil refinery in Tuapse, Russia, into a glowing fireball emitting thick, black smoke in the early hours of Friday. It burned for at least 36 hours.

Near Putin’s £1 billion clifftop palace on the Black Sea, some suspect the Tuapse Oil Refinery could have been Long Neptune’s first target.

‘There is an assumption that it was [the new] Neptune’, Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ said.

A previous incarnation of the Neptune sank the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet – the Moskva – in April 2022.

Built in 1980s Ukraine, when it was still part of the Soviet Union, the Moskva had bombarded cities like Odesa and Mykolaiv.

It made headlines when a Ukrainian soldier stationed on Snake Island responded to its threats by saying: ‘Go f*** yourself, Russian warship.’

Moskva was the second major Russian ship destroyed in the conflict. Most taken out since then have been hit by Ukraine’s drones.

Other possible targets of the Long Neptune include a local history museum in Sudzha, flattened on Friday soon after Russian forces recaptured the town in Kursk region.

It had been held by Ukraine since a surprise offensive in August last year.

Ukraine may have hoped its hold on swathes of Kursk might boost its hand in peace talks with Russia.

But Putin’s forces are on the brink of pushing Ukraine out, just as Trump strongarms Ukraine into agreeing to a ceasefire, largely on Russia’s terms.

Although Zelensky agreed to an immediate and unconditional 30-day renewable ceasefire, proposed by the US, Putin has rejected the plan.

Putin is demanding Ukraine abandon its hope of joining NATO, along with large portions of its territory, some of which is not already occupied by Russia.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is rallying European partners to assemble a peacekeeping force for Ukraine, warning Putin ‘the world is watching’.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference today, Starmer said: ‘Our militaries will meet on Thursday this week here in the United Kingdom to put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security.’

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