Ukrainian ballistics "Sapsan" is being launched into series – analyst Badrak
The Ukrainian ballistic missile "Sapsan" successfully passed combat testing in May 2025 and is being launched into mass production. This was reported in a large article for LIGA.net by Valentyn Badrak, director of the Center for Army Research, Conversion and Disarmament.
According to him, in mid-May 2025, the first successful combat test of Sapsan took place – Ukrainian defenders destroyed a Russian military facility at a distance of almost 300 kilometers.
"Frankly speaking, success was preceded by the correct administration of this missile program. Since July 2024, a specialized Deputy Minister of Defense, Anatoly Klochko, has appeared, who became the coordinator of the program – the center of gravity has shifted from the Ministry of Strategic Industry to the Ministry of Defense. Which is logical, because it is the Ministry of Defense that is the customer of the missile and conducts all programs of specialized military-technical cooperation," said Badrak.
The expert noted that in the end, the missile program was separated from all other developments – the Ministry of Defense established the main department for supporting the missile program and a specialized department responsible for the policy on combat missiles for the Armed Forces.
The analyst noted that now this missile is being launched into series – and, as the Ministry of Defense claims, there are no obstacles to this, and even synchronization of actions in the work of the defense department and the Ministry of Strategic Industry has been achieved: "At least, there are such assurances from the military."
Badrak noted that this ballistics is a "large, powerful weapon" – its warhead weighs 480 kg (in the new American PrSM ballistic missile for the HIMARS system – only 91 kg).
"So we can predict that Ukraine is already on the path to missile buildup, and this is important not only for the present, but also for ensuring the future of the state and nation," the expert concluded.
He also said that the Sapsan showed high speed during the tests. Comparatively speaking, this missile is faster than the US ATACMS and closer to the Russian Iskander.
- In the same article, the analyst writes in more detail about how the large-scale Russian invasion gave Sapsan a second wind, as well as about the new missile program resumed at the end of May 2022 and the participation of Europeans and Americans in the project.
- On May 2, 2025, President Zelenskyy reported that the task of the Ukrainian missile program is to "maximum accelerate" the creation of ballistics.