Flash explained why concerns about ballistic missiles sometimes arise after arrival
Serhiy Beskrestnov (Flash), an advisor to the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, explained why, during Russian ballistic missile attacks, the air raid siren sometimes goes off only after the missiles have already arrived. According to him, this is due to the nature of receiving information about launches and the extremely short flight time of the missiles.
He noted that Ukraine receives data on launch preparations or the launches themselves from international partners. According to the advisor, the main sources of such information are satellite surveillance of launch sites and missile launch detection systems.
Beskrestnov emphasized that ballistic missiles reach Kyiv in just 2–4 minutes, so the ability to warn the population in a timely manner is extremely limited. Any delays in transmitting or processing information could result in the air raid siren sounding only after the strike has already occurred.
At the same time, he noted that the early warning system is not infallible. According to him, there are situations when an alert is issued, but no actual missile launch takes place.
“There are also frequent instances when an alert is sounded but no launch occurs. This happens because satellites detect activity at launch sites that precedes missile launches, but the launches themselves may not take place for some reason. Remember how many times there were false alarms in Oreshnik? It’s the same thing: reconnaissance satellites visually detect activity at the launch pad, but it’s unclear whether a launch will actually take place or not,” the minister’s advisor added.
Beskrestnov reported this on Facebook on July 14.
As a reminder, on the night of July 15, Ukraine’s air defense forces shot down 101 out of 122 drones used by Russian troops to attack the country’s territory. This was reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Starting in the evening of July 14, Russian troops launched strikes on three districts in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The enemy used drones and artillery; a 53-year-old man was injured as a result of the attacks.
