At approximately 11:00 (EET), Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv.The command of the Air Force of Ukraine announced
What is known
Representative of the Air Force Colonel Yuri Ignatsaid that, apparently, the blow was delivered by 9M723 missiles of the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system. They are launched from ground launchers and have a warhead weighing half a ton. The exact type will be set later. The same applies to the effectiveness of repelling an attack.
</ img>
Russia also uses air defense systemsdefense S-400. In the case of strikes against ground targets, missiles also fly along a ballistic trajectory. 48N6DM (pictured below) has a launch range of more than 200 km and a warhead weighing almost 200 kg.
</ img>
The difficulty in intercepting ballistic missiles lies in the lack of time to react. Today, about 10 minutes elapsed between the announcement of an air raid alert in Kyiv and the first explosions.
In the case of the Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles, theirthe journey from the launch site (Caspian Sea) to Ukraine takes more than 1 hour. In addition, Ukraine can track the movement of the bombers, which need about 5 hours to reach the position. The same applies to sea-based Caliber cruise missiles.
</ img>
If we are talking about ballistic threats, theycan only be intercepted at the terminal stage of the flight. To do this, the Ukrainian Air Force is armed with the SAMP/T and MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 air defense systems. However, despite the defeat of the ballistic missile, its fragments fall to the ground along with the fragments of the missile interceptor, which eliminates the warhead.