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| Russian cruise missile intercepted by Ukrainian air defense system (pict illustration) |
Kiev - Russian cruise missiles appear to have run into obstacles in the battle with Ukraine. It is known that eight Russian Kh-555 cruise missiles were reportedly fired in the western, southern and central regions of Ukraine.
Kyiv claims that Ukraine managed to intercept 7 of the 8 missiles. Quoted from the Eurasian Times, 1 missile was shot down by an air force fighter jet and another 6 were "disappeared" by the anti-aircraft missile force.
Meanwhile, the military is still evaluating casualties and damage from the attack. Ukraine has not provided additional information, such as what fighter jets intercepted the Russian missiles and what the Russian missile targets were.
Earlier, on July 29, the Ukrainian military confirmed that it had downed a Russian "frog-footed" Su-25 attack aircraft. On July 5, a video showing Ukraine shooting down 6 Russian missiles aimed at the city of Dnipro also went viral on social media.
This adds to the long list of Russian losses in Ukraine. During the conflict, Ukraine claims to have destroyed 174 Russian cruise missiles. Ukraine's Ministry of Defense admitted that the country also obliterated nearly 3,000 other vehicles, namely 223 aircraft, 15 ships and 1,768 tanks.
After months of fighting, Ukrainian forces managed to force the Russian military back into the easternmost region of the country.
While Russia continues to carry out attacks in other parts of the country, battlefield fighting remains confined to eastern Ukraine. In fact, the no-fly zone does not apply.
Quoting from 19fortyfive.com, Ukraine calls for a no-fly zone. However, Russia proved that the no-fly operation by Ukraine's allies would be ineffective.
This is because the Air Force command asked its bombers to stay above Russian airspace to launch their missiles instead of flying over Ukraine.
That means Ukrainian air defense forces should focus on eliminating cruise missiles rather than engaging Russian bombers. Russia itself deployed the Tu-95MS “Bear H” and Tu-160 “Blackjack” bombers. These bombers have launched Kh 555 cruise missiles at Ukraine since the start of the war.
The Kh 555 has a range of 2,200 miles making it easier for the bombers to stay in Russian airspace and hit any targets inside Ukraine.
The missile entered service in 2004 and has a conventional high-explosive warhead weighing 881 pounds. The Tu-160 can accommodate 12 missiles and the TU-95MS can carry up to 16 Kh 555.
Fortunately for Ukraine, the Kh 555 is not stealthy and can be shot down by an S-300 anti-aircraft missile battery. Nevertheless, Ukraine's losses on Russia's advanced defense equipment are immeasurable.