eng
Українська
Русский
War in Ukraine

Ignat told why the occupiers attack Kyiv with ballistic missiles

Ihor Romanko

Yuriy Ignat explained why Russia is shelling Kyiv with Iskanders and ballistic missiles

By using the Iskander tactical missile system to attack Kyiv, the enemy is trying to launch a surprise attack so that the Ukrainian air defense has minimal time to react, says Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Read also: "They just didn't open the shelter": 3 people died in Kyiv due to falling fragments of Russian missiles

"What other weapons can they use to strike so quickly and effectively? They tried to attack the Kyiv region with S-400 missiles. This is a considerable distance, and artillery is not able to reach it. That is why the enemy is using tactical systems precisely to give us a minimum of time to respond," he said.

According to Ihnat, if cruise missiles are flying from the Caspian or Black Sea, we have about an hour to react. But in the case of ballistic missiles, it takes minutes to react. Therefore, Ihnat notes, there was very little time between the air raid alert and the first results of air defense.

"That's why the enemy is trying to make a surprise attack and strike so that our air defense cannot react. But, as we can see, it worked this time," the speaker explains.

The Iskander-M and Iskander-K missiles have a range of about 500-600 km. The warhead of these missiles weighs about 500 kg, and the flight speed reaches 900 km/h.

On May 30, Russian militants attacked the capital of Ukraine for the third time in 24 hours. On the night of May 30, the enemy bombed Kyiv with drones, while on May 29, the enemy used a combined missile, drone and ballistic attack.

If you want to get the latest news about the war and events in Ukraine, subscribe to our Telegram channel!