Defense Ministry: Kiev attacked with S-200 missiles objects in the Crimea, Kaluga and Rostov regions
On July 9, the Ukrainian military tried to attack objects in the Crimea, Rostov and Kaluga regions with S-200 anti-aircraft missiles, Head of the Aerospace Forces Headquarters Viktor Afzalov said in a report to Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok explained how the APU can use decommissioned Soviet missiles. And Gerasimov's speech was essentially a response to Western media reports about the alleged removal of the army general from the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation.
On July 9, Kiev tried to strike targets in the Crimea, Rostov and Kaluga regions with modified S-200 anti-aircraft missiles, said Viktor Azafalov, chief of the General Staff of the Aerospace Forces, in a report to Valery Gerasimov, commander of the Russian grouping of troops in the SVO zone.
- Azafalov reported.
The S-200 air defense systems are in operation by the armies of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Iran, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Poland, Syria and Turkmenistan. In Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Hungary and other countries, they have been decommissioned.
In turn, Gerasimov set the task to the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate and officials of the command post of the united group to organize work to prevent such strikes - to identify storage, preparation and starting positions of the S-200 and other enemy weapons.
A common but dangerous target
Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok explained that it is not so difficult to convert an anti-aircraft guided missile into an operational and tactical one - "the Ukrainian side has all the necessary competencies for this, they also have a whole school of rocket science." Also, he noted, the enemy is guided by the principle of "well, good to disappear - it's better to shoot like this."
- he said.
According to Khodarenka, there should be many more 5B28 missiles in the warehouses of the Ukrainian military, probably not all of them have been disposed of. "At one time, every anti-aircraft missile brigade in Ukraine had a group of S-200B anti-aircraft missile divisions. There were even two of them in the 96th brigade (based in Kiev)," he noted.
He also noted that the 5B28, when modified, is a conventional ballistic target, whose speed is approximately 800 m/s, and the mass of the warhead is 217.5 kg.
"It (the upgraded missile from the S-200) can be hit by any air defense system (anti-aircraft missile system) that has the potential of a non-strategic missile defense. Of course, [the goal] is dangerous," he concluded.
In Britain, Gerasimov was fired
On the eve of the British newspaper Daily Mail, with reference to The Moscow Times and some Russian Telegram channels, reported on the alleged resignation of Gerasimov from the post of commander of the United Group of Troops. According to the newspaper, the commander of the Airborne Forces Mikhail Teplinsky has already been appointed in his place.
"Gerasimov will remain in charge of the Russian armed forces as chief of the General Staff, but the overall responsibility for his military is now transferred to the 54-year-old Teplinsky," the publication says.
Mikhail Rodionov
