Member of Parliament Maryana Bezuhla asserts that the Russian ballistic missile that fell in the Obolon district of Kyiv on the morning of February 12 was not intercepted by air defense systems. TSN reports. This information is also provided by Kontrakty.UA.
In response to this claim, the head of the communications department of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat, reacted angrily.
“Can someone explain to Maryana B. how air defense works against ballistic missiles! The guided missile of the Patriot air defense system can only intercept a ballistic missile through direct 'head-on' collision. Due to the kinetic energy during the impact, the enemy missile either explodes or changes its flight trajectory and falls to the ground. There is no other way to defeat a ballistic missile!” he wrote on his Facebook page, sharing a screenshot of the MP's post.
Yurii Ihnat noted that if the missile did not explode in the air, there remains a high probability of detonation of the warhead upon impact with the ground. In other words, the expert explains, the damaged missile is no longer flying toward the target designated by the enemy, but it will definitely fall to the ground.
“On February 12, suddenly, at 4:30 AM, the enemy attempted to destroy critical infrastructure in the capital, depriving Kyiv residents of heat and electricity, and creating a humanitarian catastrophe during the cold! The consequences could have been horrific…” emphasized the spokesperson for the Air Force Command.
Yurii Ihnat mentioned that Maryana Bezuhla is not sufficiently competent to assess the effectiveness and question the quality of the work of Ukrainian air defense personnel. He described the photo of the crater from the missile impact shared by the MP as a service to the enemy, who now knows for certain that the target was not hit.
“Let me remind you that a Russian 'Iskander' missile costs several million dollars. The enemy carefully selects priority targets for using this weapon, not an empty space named after Maryana Bezuhla. And right in her district — in Obolon! Hey, Russians, is this what you call 'friendly fire'?” he concluded.
As a reminder, on the night of February 12, Russian forces carried out a missile strike on Kyiv. It is known that one person was killed, and four others were injured.