Ukraine Lacks Defense System to Shoot Down Russian Kh-22 Missiles: Official

The commander of Ukraine's air force defense on Saturday said his country has no system capable of intercepting and downing Kh-22 missiles like the ones Russia fired into Dnipro.

Lieutenant General Nikolai Oleshuk, Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated Saturday night that the Kh-22 missile can be detected by its launch, altitude and flight speed, but the missile's flight could be off by "hundreds of meters."

Ukraine's identification system is sophisticated enough to even identify the incoming missiles as Kh-22 but still haven't been able to knock one down.

"In the Armed Forces of Ukraine there are no fire devices capable of shooting down this type of missile. Since the beginning of Russian military aggression on Ukraine, more than 210 missiles of this type have been launched. None of them are knocked down by air defense equipment," Oleshuk said.

Oleshuk said the Kh-22 weighs about 950 kg (2,094 pounds) and can travel up to 600 km (370 miles). The commander said only certain air defenses from Western countries can track down such missiles and bring them down.

"Only anti-aircraft missile complexes that can in the future be provided to Ukraine by Western partners (systems such as Patriot PAC-3 or SAMP-T), are capable of intercepting data air targets," Oleshuk said.

Kh-22 missiles were largely responsible for massive destruction and multiple deaths Saturday in the Ukrainian town of Dnipro, located in the contentious Eastern Ukraine, where Russia has already occupied many territories and battles to save that territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday released a video that showed a nine-story apartment in Dnipro that had been reduced to rubble, killing at least five people.

"Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by [Russian] terror! The world must stop evil. Debris clearance in Dnipro continues. All services are working. We're fighting for every person, every life. We'll find everyone involved in terror. Everyone will bear responsibility. Utmost," Zelensky wrote.

Anton Gerashchenko, the adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, also tweeted a photo that showed the building's destruction. Seven children were among the other 39 people injured in the blast.

"A residential building hit in Dnipro. Serious damage. There are people under the rubble. Rescue services at work," Gerashchenko wrote.

Newsweek reached out to the Ukraine Ministry of Defense for comment.

The Russia-Ukraine war is rapidly approaching the one-year mark of February 24. Russia insists on keeping the war going, even after an estimated 114,000 soldiers from their country have died during the war so far.