AFU Refute That Explosion In Dnipro Occurred Due To Missile Downing By Air Defense

The Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine refutes the information circulating on social networks that the alleged explosion in Dnipro occurred due to the downing of a Russian missile by Ukrainian air defense. This is stated in the message of the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

According to the report, on January 14, five Tu-22m3 long-range bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces launched five Kh-22 cruise missiles at the territory of Ukraine. Launches were carried out from the Kursk Region and from the waters of the Sea of ​ ​ Azov.

One of the Kh-22 missiles launched from the Kursk Region about 3:30 p.m. hit a high-rise building in Dnipro (on Naberezhna Peremohy street).

Radar detected approximate launch location, altitude, flight speed.

"There is no doubt that it was a Kh-22 rocket. The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have fire weapons capable of shooting down this type of missiles. Since the beginning of Russia's military aggression, more than 210 missiles of this type have been fired at the territory of Ukraine. None is shot down by air defense," the report said.

The mass of the warhead of a Kh-22 is about 950 kg. Maximum range makes up to 600 km. When applied from long distances, the deviation from the target can be hundreds of meters.

The report emphasizes that only anti-aircraft missile systems, which in the future can be provided to Ukraine by Western partners (such as Patriot PAC-3 or SAMP-T), are able to intercept these air targets.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, during a massive Russian missile raid on Ukraine on January 14, two entrances from 9 to 2 floors of an apartment building in Dnipro were destroyed.

A rescue operation continues in Dnipro on the ruins of a house destroyed by a Russian rocket. Currently, 21 killed are known. Despite this, a survived person was pulled from the rubble this morning.