Ukraine’s FP-9 ballistic missile, designed to hit targets at ranges such as Moscow, will be operational this fall, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Reuters.
Zelensky said he contacted executives at Ukrainian defense manufacturer Fire Point to urge accelerated completion of the FP-9, following the combat debut earlier in the week of the shorter-range FP-7 tactical ballistic missile.
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“I told them: where is my FP-9? We need the FP-9. And the FP-9 will be (ready) this fall, I am convinced,” Zelensky said.
The president added that Ukraine plans to step up precision strikes against Russian oil refineries to counter a broader air campaign by Moscow aimed at forcing residents to evacuate kyiv and other urban centers before winter.
Citing intelligence documents, Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin approved an operational directive expanding strikes against a wider range of civilian targets, including roads, transport, schools and hospitals.
“We have seen the documents and we know that they authorize attacks on infrastructure, logistics, roads, schools, hospitals to force people to leave the capital, to leave different cities. This is the goal of the operation,” Zelensky said, attributing the change in Russian tactics to front-line pressure and personnel losses in Donbass.
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Zelensky stressed that while Ukraine would respond to Moscow’s attacks on its energy network by targeting Russian energy infrastructure, Ukrainian forces would not carry out indiscriminate attacks on civilian sites.
“We must respond in every possible way. To their attacks on our energy sector, we must respond with strikes against their energy sector. Above all – against oil refineries: this is what provides them with money for this war. But we will certainly not strike, as they do, civilian facilities,” Zelensky said.
Deep strike operations and overnight engagements
Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian forces carried out long-range strikes early Saturday morning, October 3.
According to the president, the night strikes hit the positions and personnel of Russian Iskander missile launchers in the Bryansk region, as well as targets in the Samara region.
“Over the past 24 hours, our long-range capability has worked effectively against facilities operating for the aggressor’s war machine,” Zelensky said on social media, adding that Ukrainian operations also produced new results in the Black Sea, without disclosing operational details.
The confirmed strikes follow an ongoing campaign by Ukraine’s defense forces targeting rear logistics, aerial surveillance networks and missile batteries deployed in Russian border regions.
Development of Fire Point and FREYJA initiative
The FP-9 deployment schedule follows Ukraine’s first operational combat use of the FP-7 tactical ballistic missile on Thursday, October 1.
Manufactured by Fire Point, the basic FP-7 carries a 150-kilogram warhead over an operational range of approximately 200 to 250 kilometers.
Fire Point founder and chief designer Denys Shtilerman previously compared the platform to the U.S. Army’s Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), noting that the Sovereign weapon is produced at approximately half the acquisition cost, with domestic manufacturing covering rocket engines and flight guidance systems.
Fire Point officially announced development of the longer-range FP-7 and FP-9 in September 2025, conducting the first flight tests of the FP-7 in February 2026.
Prior to its combat deployment, Fire Point General Director Iryna Terekh confirmed that the FP-7 had completed approximately 15 test launches and obtained final certifications from the Ministry of Defense.
The defense company also serves as an industrial hub for the European FREYJA initiative, launched in July alongside nine partner countries to build low-cost ballistic missile interceptors.
Under this program, Fire Point is developing the FP-7.X high-speed interceptor variant, targeting unit production costs of less than €1 million ($1.2 million) to reduce reliance on scarce Patriot batteries supplied by the United States ahead of operational intercept trials planned for 2027.
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