Maximum humiliation for Russia. Ukraine downs missiles using well-known song — Media
Illustrative photo: MiG‑31K fighter jet with a Kinzhal missile (Wikipedia)
Ukraine is using music to disrupt Russian aeroballistic Kinzhal missiles, which Russia calls "invincible." A special unit jams the missiles’ satellite signals by replacing them with a well-known Ukrainian song, The Telegraph reports.
A Ukrainian special combat unit called the Nichna varta (Night watch) claims to have shot down 19 Russian Kinzhal missiles in just two weeks. To counter the missiles, the unit uses rerouting commands as well as the Our father Bandera song, which mocks Russian propaganda narratives.
Kinzhal missiles cost several million dollars each, carry 480 kilograms of explosives, and travel at speeds exceeding 6,400 kilometers per hour. However, they rely on Russia’s GLONASS navigation system. The missile uses a Controlled Radiation Pattern Antenna (CRPA), an older type of technology designed to resist jamming.
Ukrainians are taking full advantage of this. The Ukrainian jamming system Lima replaces signals from Russian satellites, using a song to jam the data. The song overrides satellite data, and the system sends the missiles false signals, making them think they are over Lima, Peru.
At speeds of 6,400 kilometers per hour, the missile tries to turn "toward Ukraine," but it destabilizes due to the sharp course change and essentially breaks into several pieces. Often, it simply snaps in half under the enormous stress of attempting to maneuver.
Russia has tried adding more receivers to the missile to make it less vulnerable, but this has not helped. As a result, the work of the Nichna varta has proven more successful than Ukraine had anticipated.
What is the Kinzhal missile
The Kinzhal (Kh-47M2) is a Russian aeroballistic missile launched from MiG‑31K interceptor aircraft. It is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 10 (over 12,000 km/h) and striking targets at distances of up to 2,000 km. Russia promotes the Kinzhal as a hypersonic weapon that is difficult for modern air-defense systems to intercept.
According to Russian claims, the Kinzhal can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead. The missile follows a ballistic trajectory, but due to its high speed and maneuverability during the final phase of approach, it is extremely difficult to destroy.
In 2023–2024, Ukrainian air defense — including Patriot systems — successfully intercepted several Kinzhal missiles, disproving the myth of their supposed invincibility.
