Editor's note: This item was updated to include comments from former Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat, who said that the Russian cruise missile had also been targeted by an anti-air missile. Current Air Force spokesperson Illia Yevlash declined to comment.
Ukrainian soldiers from an air defense unit in western Zakarpattia Oblast shot at a Russian cruise missile with a truck-mounted machine gun, according to a video shared by Governor Viktor Mykyta on Aug. 26. The Russian cruise missile was downed by an anti-air missile, said former Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat.
Mykyta had claimed earlier that the machine-gun fire downed the missile.
In comments to the Kyiv Independent, Air Force spokesperson Illia Yevlash reiterated that Ihnat had refuted the claim and declined to comment further.
The shoot-down occurred amid a large-scale Russian attack across Ukraine. As of 10:31 a.m. local time, at least three people have been killed.
Mykyta said the missile was heading toward Zakarpattia Oblast from neighboring Lviv Oblast, and was shot at by the 650th separate anti-aircraft machine gun battalion.
Zakarpattia is located in the far western part of Ukraine, bordering Slovakia and Hungary to the west and Romania to the south.
Nate Ostiller
(Updated: )
