Ukrainian air defense set a record by shooting down 9 supersonic Kh-22 missiles during an attack on Kyiv
Ukraine’s air defense forces intercepted nine out of twelve Russian Kh-22 missiles launched at the capital, marking an unprecedented success since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
As reported by Head of Communications of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yurii Ihnat in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, previously Ukrainian defenders had managed to shoot down only three such missiles out of more than 400 used by Russia. Each Kh-22 missile carries a warhead weighing about one ton and attacks its target along a complex ballistic trajectory, making interception an extremely difficult task for most air defense systems.
The Soviet-era Kh-22 “Buriya” missiles, actively used by Russia, were originally designed to strike aircraft carriers and penetrate powerful defense systems. With speeds of up to Mach 4.6 and flight altitudes exceeding 22 kilometers, these missiles were long considered nearly impossible to intercept with existing air defense means. However, during the latest massive attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian forces demonstrated effective countermeasures against the enemy’s supersonic targets, despite the occupiers also using upgraded versions — Kh-32 missiles.
In addition to the capital, the enemy often uses these missiles to strike port infrastructure, oil platforms, and facilities in the Black Sea, launching them from Tu-22M3 strategic bombers. The high interception rate during the defense of Kyiv indicates strengthened technical capabilities of Ukraine’s defense system against Russia’s ballistic threats. Only the most modern systems, capable of providing direct protection of strategic facilities, can effectively counter such attacks.
On the night of January 24, Russia struck Kyiv with missiles that had been atypical in recent months. For the attack, the enemy used heavy Kh-22 and Kh-32 cruise missiles launched from Tu-22M3 strategic bombers. This was reported on air by Yurii Ihnat, Head of Communications of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Ukraine is experiencing a serious shortage of missiles for air defense systems, as a result of which some anti-aircraft complexes are at times left without ammunition on the eve of new attacks, Yurii Ihnat stated.
