Ukraine test-fires new ground-based cruise missile

KIEV, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine on Tuesday test-fired a domestic-made ground-based cruise missile, the country's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) said.

The missile, which was developed by the state-run Kiev design bureau "Luch" in cooperation with Ukrainian state and private defense enterprises, is able to deliver precise strikes on ground and seaborne targets, the NSDC said in a statement.

"Today's tests marked a new stage of the missile program under which our Armed Forces must receive powerful high-performance cruise missiles that can accurately strike hostile targets at great distances," Oleksandr Turchynov, head of the NSDC, said in the statement.

In the same time, he emphasized that the Ukraine-made cruise missiles' range and their combat equipment "do not contradict the international agreements signed by Ukraine for such type of weapons."

According to Turchynov, the NSDC, which coordinates the national missile program, plans to develop sea-based and air-based missile systems in the future. Enditem