Air Force: Ukraine needs Patriot to down Kh-22 missiles Russia used to hit high-rise in Dnipro
Ukraine's Air Force Command reported that Russia used five Tu-22М3 long-range supersonic missile carrier bombers to fire five Kh-22 missiles against Ukraine on Jan. 14. They were launched from Russia's border Kursk Oblast and the Azov Sea. One of those missiles hit a high-rise building in the city of Dnipro, killing 14 people and injuring 73.
According to Ukraine's military, radar detected the approximate launch site, altitude, and flight speed. "There is no doubt that it was a Kh-22 missile," the Air Force Command said, adding that Ukraine has "no firepower capable of shooting down this type of missile."
Since Feb. 24, Russian forces have fired more than 210 such missiles at Ukraine. None of them was shot down by air defense system.
"When used from long distances, the deviation from the target can be hundreds of meters," the Ukrainian military said. "Only anti-aircraft missile systems, which may be provided to Ukraine by Western partners in the future (such systems as Patriot PAC-3 or SAMP-T), are capable of intercepting these air targets."
