Ukraine under heavy attack: Shahed drones, Kinzhal and cruise missiles explained
Drones and missiles spotted in Ukrainian airspace (Photo: Getty Images)
Russian forces on the morning of Wednesday, November 19, are once again carrying out a combined attack on Ukraine. Strike drones and missiles of various types are heading toward Ukrainian cities.
RBC-Ukraine reports everything that is currently known.
Main questions:
- Drones have been spotted in many regions, with Kharkiv hit overnight;
- In the early morning, Kalibr missiles were launched from the Black Sea;
- The Kyiv Military-Civil Administration reported the detection of a Kinzhal missile launch;
- Russia scrambled Tu-95 bombers overnight, and cruise missiles were detected over Ukraine in the early morning.
Shahed drones
According to the Ukrainian Air Forces, late in the evening of November 18, Russian drones were recorded in the Sumy, Poltava, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv regions.
It is currently known that Kharkiv was hit, where the attack destroyed a Silpo supermarket, damaged buildings and vehicles, and caused fires. In addition, dozens of people were injured and evacuated.
Overnight, starting from 03:20 Kyiv time, the military began recording Russian drones in many other regions, including western Ukraine.
Kalibr missiles
Monitoring channels reported overnight that Russia had deployed carriers of Kalibr cruise missiles into the Black Sea. Around 04:30 Kyiv time in the morning, they noted that the enemy had launched missiles.
Starting from 05:00, the Ukrainian Air Forces detected the first Kalibr missiles in Ukraine’s airspace. The initial detections were in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, after which the missiles were heading toward the Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions.
Kinzhal launches
Around 5 a.m. Kyiv time, monitoring channels reported the takeoff of MiG-31K aircraft, which carry aeroballistic Kinzhal missiles.
By 05:39, the Kyiv Military-Civil Administration informed that, according to the Air Forces, at least one Kinzhal missile launch had been detected. Its target is unknown.
Missile launches from strategic aviation
At 03:30 overnight, Russia scrambled Tu-95MS strategic bombers. They took off from Olenya airfield in the Murmansk region.
As of 06:11, the first missiles from these aircraft have already entered Ukrainian airspace. They were detected in the Sumy region.
Updated at 06:33
The military continues to track cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS bombers. In the past few minutes, missiles have been flying over the Poltava region, east of Cherkasy, and a group of missiles is also passing over the Sumy region.
In preparing this article, data from the Air Forces and information from local authorities were used.
