Poroshenko calls for expansion of borders of firing grounds to test new types of missiles

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has proposed expanding the borders of Ukrainian firing grounds in order to have the opportunity to test new types of weapons.

"We need to make some technical changes that expand the boundaries of the firing grounds and enable us to continue successful tests," Poroshenko said at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine in Kyiv on Wednesday, May 2.

He said that in Ukraine, after the occupation of Crimea, the test areas are insufficient for testing new types of missiles that have a longer range.

Speaking about the missiles currently being tested, Poroshenko noted that the range and accuracy of such weapons had significantly increased, as evidenced by the latest tests.

As was reported, the Vilkha missile system successfully passed tests in December 2017. Poroshenko said then that UAH 1.6 billion should be allocated for the purchase and production of new military hardware and weapons, including the Vilkha system.

On April 11, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov said that the state tests of the Vilkha missile system started in the south of Odesa region.

He also said that after the large-scale testing, the equipment will be used by the Ukrainian army and the Ukrainian defense industry will launch its batch production.