The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing a series of long-range strikes against priority targets inside the Russian Federation, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on his official elegram channel.

In a brief statement, Zelensky said he and the heads of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) had identified “priority targets for our long-range [strikes] in the near term” and vowed that the plans would soon be carried out. “We will definitely implement everything,” he said.

The announcement is the most recent public confirmation from Kyiv of plans to expand the use of long-reach munitions as part of a broader campaign to hit Russian military and logistical infrastructure beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Ukraine has already shown a growing capability to conduct long-range attacks.

Earlier on Friday Ukraine’s intelligence services say they destroyed a launch system for the three Oreshnik ballistic missiles ready for launch from the Kapustin Yar range in Russia’s Astrakhan region.

According to SBU head Vasyl Malyuk, the operation took place “on their territory at Kapustin Yar,” carried out by the combined forces of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR), the SBU and SZRU.

“It was a very successful mission. The destruction was one hundred percent,” Malyuk said.

“This is something we have never made public before… It happened before the name ‘Oreshnik’ was widely used.”

Ukraine’s intelligence estimates that Russia has fired one Oreshnik missile and destroyed a second, with at least one still in its arsenal. The head of the SZRU, Oleh Ivashchenko, noted:

“There is one [launch system]… We believe that this year up to three were produced, and up to six are planned annually.”

Zelensky warned that Russia may deploy the Oreshnik to Belarus, putting parts of Europe within its reach.

“We understand that their approximate range is 5,500 kilometers. And there is a dead zone of 700 kilometers. This means that Europeans, especially those in Eastern Europe, should pay attention to this. And everyone else, too. We must pay attention to these risks,” he said.