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Russia using surface-to-air missiles to hit ground targets in Ukraine, reports say


Russia has been hitting ground targets in Ukraine with a surface-to-air missiles, reports have said, the latest sign of growing logistical issues faced by Moscow.

The Soviet-era S-300 missile system, first deployed in 1979, was originally designed to defend against air raids and cruise missiles for the Soviet Air Defence Forces.

But reports from Ukraine have said the system has been used by Russian forces to attack ground targets, with the British Defence Ministry saying this suggests Vladimir Putin‘s forces are experiencing ‘critical shortages’ of ground-attack weapons.

Reports said the missiles were equipped with an atypical explosive projectile that destroys everything in the vicinity of impact, with commentators accusing Russian forces of yet more war crimes for striking civilian areas with weapons capable of such indiscriminate destruction.

On Thursday, Vitaly Kim – governor of the southern Mykolaiv region – said it had been targeted with seven S-300 missiles, with one person wounded and impacts on infrastructure, energy facilities and storage areas.

On Thursday, Vitaly Kim - governor of the southern Mykolaiv region - said it had been targeted with seven S-300 missiles, with one person wounded and impacts on infrastructure, energy facilities and storage areas. Pictured: Damage to a residential building is seen in Mykolaiv

On Thursday, Vitaly Kim - governor of the southern Mykolaiv region - said it had been targeted with seven S-300 missiles, with one person wounded and impacts on infrastructure, energy facilities and storage areas. Pictured: Damage to a residential building is seen in Mykolaiv

On Thursday, Vitaly Kim – governor of the southern Mykolaiv region – said it had been targeted with seven S-300 missiles, with one person wounded and impacts on infrastructure, energy facilities and storage areas. Pictured: Damage to a residential building is seen in Mykolaiv

Pictured: A Soviet-era S-300 ground-to-air missile defence system is seen during a military parade (file photo). The S-300 missile system, first deployed in 1979, was originally designed to defend against air raids and cruise missiles for the Soviet Air Defence Forces

Pictured: A Soviet-era S-300 ground-to-air missile defence system is seen during a military parade (file photo). The S-300 missile system, first deployed in 1979, was originally designed to defend against air raids and cruise missiles for the Soviet Air Defence Forces

Pictured: A Soviet-era S-300 ground-to-air missile defence system is seen during a military parade (file photo). The S-300 missile system, first deployed in 1979, was originally designed to defend against air raids and cruise missiles for the Soviet Air Defence Forces

Earlier this month, on July 8, the governor also said S300 missiles had been used against ground targets, and claimed they have been retro-fitted with GPS devices to guide them to their targets. Despite this, they were still inaccurate, he said.

Pictures from the region showed a devastated residential building, while others showed firefighters in the wreckage of an industrial building. According to one report, the missile strike carved out huge pits ’10 meters deep’ in the ground.

While the S-300 missiles were originally only intended to strike targets in the air –  such as warplanes or other in-coming missiles – reports have said they have been been retrofitted with some surface-to-surface capabilities.

According to The Drive, the S-300P series have inertial guidance systems which is updated by radio link and, when the missile gets close to its target, a semi-active radar homing system.

The news outlet said that this means the missiles are unlikely to before able to accurately strike smaller targets, but could be used against area targets.

Due to their high-speed and quasi-ballistic missiles, the S-300 missiles are also difficult to defend against, The Dive said. One analysts compared the accuracy of the missiles to the improvised rockets used by Hamas against Israel.

The British Defence Ministry said it believes that Russia is experiencing ‘critical shortages’ of dedicated ground-attack missiles and therefore has increased its use of air-defence missiles ‘in secondary ground attack mode.’ 

Pictures from Mykolaiv showed a devastated residential building, while others showed firefighters in the wreckage of an industrial building. According to one report , the missile strike carved out huge pits '10 meters deep' in the ground

Pictures from Mykolaiv showed a devastated residential building, while others showed firefighters in the wreckage of an industrial building. According to one report , the missile strike carved out huge pits '10 meters deep' in the ground

Pictures from Mykolaiv showed a devastated residential building, while others showed firefighters in the wreckage of an industrial building. According to one report , the missile strike carved out huge pits ’10 meters deep’ in the ground

Pictured: A firefighter works to put out flames after a missile destroyed a building in Mykolaiv

Pictured: A firefighter works to put out flames after a missile destroyed a building in Mykolaiv

Pictured: A firefighter works to put out flames after a missile destroyed a building in Mykolaiv

Pictured: Russian anti-aicraft missile systems S-300 (right) and S-400 (left) on display at military industrial exhibition in 2014 (file photo)

Pictured: Russian anti-aicraft missile systems S-300 (right) and S-400 (left) on display at military industrial exhibition in 2014 (file photo)

Pictured: Russian anti-aicraft missile systems S-300 (right) and S-400 (left) on display at military industrial exhibition in 2014 (file photo)

The ministry said Russia has ‘almost certainly’ deployed S-300 and S-400 strategic air defence systems designed to shoot down aircraft and missiles at long range, and that there is a ‘high chance’ of them missing their intended targets and causing civilian casualties.

The weapons, which have relatively small warheads are designed to destroy aircraft, it said, adding that they could pose a significant threat against troops in the open and light buildings but are unlikely to penetrate hardened structures.

There is a high chance of these weapons missing their intended targets and causing civilian casualties because the missiles are not optimised for this role and their crews will have little training for such missions, the Defence ministry said.

Nataliya Gumenyuk, the head of the United Coordination Press Centre for the defence forces of the south of Ukraine, said the Russians are purposefully using the inaccurate missiles to terrorize Mykolaiv. 

The reports of Russia’s use of the S-300 missiles and suspected shortage of other weaponry come amid claims that Russia has been facing logistical issues as it attempts to push further into Ukraine.

Ukraine’s fierce resistance has taken the Kremlin by surprise, with some estimates suggesting Putin has seen more than 30,000 of his troops killed.

When the invasion began on February 24, Moscow brazenly believed its forces would sweep to victory and depose Kyiv‘s government in a matter of days. Instead, Russia has been dragged into a protracted and costly conflict, with no end in sight.

And while Moscow’s armies succeeded in seizing the majority of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, reports have said Ukraine is gearing up for a counter-offensive that could see the war enter its bloodiest phase yet.

Meanwhile, Ukraine struck a bridge in the occupied Black Sea region of Kherson on Saturday, targeting a Russian supply route – as Kyiv prepares for the major counter-offensive – a Ukrainian regional official said.

A tank drives along a road in Donbass, Donetsk, Ukraine, 22 July 20222

A tank drives along a road in Donbass, Donetsk, Ukraine, 22 July 20222

A tank drives along a road in Donbass, Donetsk, Ukraine, 22 July 20222

Ukrainian sappers are looking for fragments of a Russian projectile that hit the yard Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy named after O. Beketov.in Kharkiv, Ukraine on July 23

Ukrainian sappers are looking for fragments of a Russian projectile that hit the yard Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy named after O. Beketov.in Kharkiv, Ukraine on July 23

Ukrainian sappers are looking for fragments of a Russian projectile that hit the yard Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy named after O. Beketov.in Kharkiv, Ukraine on July 23

A Ukrainian serviceman makes his way to a bomb shelter at the frontline in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, July 23, 2022

A Ukrainian serviceman makes his way to a bomb shelter at the frontline in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, July 23, 2022

A Ukrainian serviceman makes his way to a bomb shelter at the frontline in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, July 23, 2022

The strike hit the Daryivskyi bridge across the Ingulets river used for supplies by Russian troops, days after a key bridge over the nearby Dnieper was hit, said an adviser to the region’s governor who is on Ukrainian-held territory.

‘Every bridge is a weak point for logistics and our armed forces are skilfully destroying the enemy system. This is not yet the liberation of Kherson, but a serious preparatory step in that direction,’ the official, Serhiy Khlan, wrote on Facebook.

The deputy head of the Russian-installed regional authority said the bridge had been hit by seven rockets from Western-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), but that the bridge still worked, Russia’s TASS news agency said.

The assertions from both sides could not be independently verified by Reuters.

Ukraine has been using western-supplied long-range weapons to hit Russian supply lines and ammunition dumps in an effort to turn the tide in the war and prepare a counter-offensive in Kherson region. 

Ukraine is also pressing ahead with efforts to restart grain exports from Odesa and other Black Sea ports after a missile attack that cast doubt over whether Russia would honour a deal aimed at easing global food shortages caused by the war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced the strikes on Odesa as blatant ‘barbarism’ that showed Moscow could not be trusted to implement Friday’s deal, mediated by Turkey and the United Nations.

However, a government minister said preparations to resume grain shipments were ongoing, and public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not significantly damaged the port.

The deal signed by Moscow and Kyiv was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough that would help curb soaring global food prices, but as the war entered its sixth month on Sunday there was no sign of a let-up in the fighting.

While the main theatre of combat has been the eastern region of Donbas, Zelenskiy said in video posted late on Saturday that Ukrainian forces were moving ‘step by step’ into the occupied eastern Black Sea region of Kherson.

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a sea port of Odesa, southern Ukraine, July 23

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a sea port of Odesa, southern Ukraine, July 23

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a sea port of Odesa, southern Ukraine, July 23

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a sea port of Odesa, southern Ukraine, July 23

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a sea port of Odesa, southern Ukraine, July 23

Firefighters work to put out a fire in a sea port of Odesa, southern Ukraine, July 23

Ukraine’s military on Sunday reported Russian shelling in numerous locations in the north, south and east, and again referred to Russian operations paving the way for an assault on Bakhmut in the Donbas.

The strikes on Odesa drew strong condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy. On Friday, U.N. officials had said they hoped the agreement would be operational in a few weeks.

Video released by the Ukrainian military showed firefighters battling a blaze on an unidentified boat moored alongside a tug boat. Reuters was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video or the date it was filmed.

Turkey’s defence minister said Russian officials told Ankara that Moscow had ‘nothing to do’ with the strikes. Neither Russian defence ministry statements nor the military’s evening summary mentioned missile strikes in Odesa. The ministry did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Two Russian Kalibr missiles hit the area of a pumping station at the port, two others were shot down by air defence forces, according to Ukraine’s military. Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat said the missiles were fired from warships in the Black Sea near Crimea.

Suspilne quoted Ukraine’s southern military command as saying the port’s grain storage area was not hit.

‘Unfortunately there are wounded. The port’s infrastructure was damaged,’ said Odesa region governor Maksym Marchenko.

But Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook that ‘we continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports’.

The deal would restore grain shipments from the three reopened ports to pre-war levels of 5 million tonnes a month, U.N. officials said.    



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