Crimea Crisis Becomes Turning Point for Ukraine to Accelerate Missile Production
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] As Russia's pride was hurt by the sinking of the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva, attention is being drawn to whether Ukraine's anti-ship missile 'Neptune' was actually the one that sank the flagship, the Washington Post (WP) reported on the 15th (local time).
Russia denies this, claiming the sinking was caused by an explosion due to a fire.
Neptune is a surface-to-ship missile that Ukraine claims to have fired at the Moskva, and it is one of the weapons they have developed themselves.
Mark Cancian, Senior Adviser at the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said, "For the Ukrainian people, proving that they have the capability to damage or sink the Moskva with the Neptune missile would be a source of pride."
He added, "Also, it would be militarily useful as it can deter the Russian fleet near the coast."
Within Ukraine, there are views that the Neptune missile sank the Moskva and that this is an achievement of their domestic defense industry.
WP reported that since the outbreak of the war, Ukraine has been using foreign-made weapons supplied by the West, but in fact, it has been a major arms exporter producing missiles and other weapons since the Soviet era.
Coincidentally, Russia was one of Ukraine's major arms export markets until a few years ago. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, one-fifth of Ukraine's arms exports from 2016 to 2020 went to Russia.
However, after Russia forcibly annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Ukraine simultaneously advanced the development and production of weapons for its own defense based on this technological capability.
WP explained that the emergence of the Neptune missile is also part of this movement.
The missile was developed by Ukraine's state-owned defense company 'Luch Design Bureau' (LDB), which improved upon the Soviet KH-35 missile. This company was established in 1965 and produced Soviet missiles during the Cold War.
WP assessed that although development began before 2014, the Crimean Peninsula incident was a turning point that accelerated Ukraine's missile production.
In fact, the Neptune missile made its first official public appearance at a weapons exhibition held in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in 2015, the year after the annexation.
Last year, Ukrainian officials revealed that four countries, including Indonesia, showed interest in acquiring this missile.
Military experts said that if this missile did sink the Moskva, it would be the first real combat case.
On the day, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed this judgment based on intelligence analysis, while Russia insists it was an accident caused by ammunition explosion inside the ship.
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