The Russian Missile That Hit Dnipro Is Called The 'Carrier Killer', The Commander Of Ukrainian Air Force Admits Not Having The Weapons To Defend It

The impact of the Russian attack on Dnipro, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - The defense commander of the Ukrainian Air Force said on Saturday that his country does not have a system capable of intercepting and downing Kh-22 missiles like those that Russia fired at the Dnipro, a missile dubbed the 'carrier killer'.

Commander of the Air Force, Armed Forces of Ukraine Lieutenant General Nikolai Oleshuk said his party was able to detect the launch, altitude, and flight speed of the Kh-22 missile. However, the missile can miss "hundreds of meters."

The Ukrainian identification system is sophisticated enough to even identify the incoming missile as the Kh-22, but is still unable to bring it down.

"In the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there are no devices capable of shooting down missiles of this type. Since the beginning of Russia's military aggression in Ukraine, more than 210 missiles of this type have been launched. None of them were brought down," said Oleshuk, quoted from Newsweek January 16.

Oleshuk explained that the Kh-22 weighs about 950 kg and can cover a distance of up to 600 km (370 miles). The commander said only certain air defenses of Western countries can track such missiles and take them down.

"Only anti-aircraft missile complexes that in the future may be provided to Ukraine by Western partners (systems such as Patriot PAC-3 or SAMP-T), are capable of intercepting aerial target data," said Oleshuk.

Russian Tupolev Tu-23 bomber carrying Kh-22 Raduga Missile Wikimedia Commons Dmitriy Pichugin

Meanwhile, an Air Force spokesman said the missile, dubbed the "carrier killer", was also used last year to strike Ukrainian territory.

"Kh-22 missiles were launched from Tu-22M3 bombers. In total, five launches of these missiles were detected from the area of ​​the City of Kursk and the Sea of ​​Azov," Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, quoted Ukrinform as saying.

He added that a missile of the same type hit a shopping center in Kremenchuk in June.

"This missile with a 950 kg warhead, called 'carrier killer', is designed to destroy carrier groups at sea. It can be equipped with a nuclear element. And such missiles are used to hit densely populated cities.

The Kh-22 missile was held responsible for massive destruction and multiple deaths on Saturday in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro located in Eastern Ukraine, where Russia has occupied large swaths of territory and is fighting to save it.

As previously reported, Ukrainian authorities and rescue teams continued to do their best to rescue and search for victims of the Russian missile attack on apartments in Dnipro on Saturday, although dozens of people are presumed dead.

Adviser to the regional governor Natalia Babachenko said 30 people were confirmed dead so far and more than 30 were hospitalized, including 12 in serious condition. Between 30 and 40 people could still be trapped under the rubble, he said.

"The chances of saving people now are very slim," Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov told Reuters.

Russia fired two waves of missiles into Ukraine on Saturday, hitting targets across the country, as fighting raged on the battlefield in the eastern cities of Soledar and Bakhmut.

In a statement on Sunday about the previous day's strike, the Russian Ministry of Defense did not name the Dnipro as a specific target.

"All assigned objects were hit. Target of attack has been achieved," he said.