Ukraine fires hard-to-stop ballistic missile as Russia unleashes mystery missile | Gravitas

Moscow has stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of

launching over 100 drones, most of which were jet-powered drones at multiple cities across Ukraine overnight. This was followed by a massive retaliation by Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian president, Russia targeted a kindergarten in Kherson, a grocery store in Kharkiv and apartment buildings in Kramatorsk and Sumy. He added that four people were

injured in this overnight attack.

Additionally, one person was killed in Kyiv when a Russian drone struck the 24th and 25th floors of a residential building. As a result, fire broke out in the premises. Listen in to what a resident of this damaged building had to say. In wake of the Russian drone attacks, two of Kyiv's major bridges were shut, leading to massive traffic snarls. Amid this, the Ukrainian capital's mayor stressed that Russian strikes are tearing Kyiv apart. On its part, Ukraine claimed to have

struck oil refineries, airfields, industrial facilities, a missile and space centre as well as ammunition depot in Russia over the last 24 hours.

Multiple regions of Russia including Samara, Voronezh and Krasnodar faced the brunt of Ukraine's retaliation. Now, even as drones have been the go-to weapon in this war, both sides have also been developing and using a range of indigenous missiles to extend their strike options. In a key development, Zelensky announced that Ukraine deployed its domestically developed FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time.

However, he didn't provide details about when or where the missile was used. Now, why is this so significant? This missile is very hard to stop because it travels at a speed of over five thousand kilometres per hour, giving air defence systems very less time to react. Designed by Firepoint, it can engage targets at up to 250 kilometres away. As this missile is launched from a ground-based platform, it provides strategic flexibility and can cater to various operational scenarios. According to the manufacturer, this ballistic interceptor has been developed as a cheaper alternative to

America's army tactical missile system.

Ukraine is also developing a FP-9 missile with a range of up to 850 kilometres, which is likely to be ready by year-end.

It is worth noting that Firefront launched the long-range fpFP5 flamingo missile last year. This cruise missile system has been designed to strike ground targets at a three thousand kilometre range. It also stands out due to its low cost,

ease of use and the fact that, it can be disguised as an ordinary truck during transport.

In another boost for Ukraine, UK agreed to provide classified information to enable domestic production of the long-range storm shadow missile. This supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by France and Britain, offers a precision deep strike ability, due to its advanced navigation system. Its targets include bunkers and key infrastructure. Amid this, an unusual shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile in Russia has garnered attention.

This man-portable air defence system or manpads which was seen on Russian state television, does not resemble any domestically-made weapon. While Russian personnel reportedly referred to it, as via, the weapon's origin and model remains a mystery. According to some experts, it resembles an Iranian Misagh-3 and Chinese QW-series system. Others feel that it may be a Russian-produced version of an Iranian or Chinese design.

Manpads are crucial as they can be dispersed among small teams, rapidly repositioned and deployed without the large infrastructure associated with conventional surface-to-air missile batteries. Now, missile warfare has been a key part of Russia's offensive against Ukraine. In July alone, Russia reportedly launched 376 missiles at Ukraine, more than twice

The number fired in June.

If we look at Russia's indigenous missile arsenal used during the Ukraine war, the Zircon anti-ship cruise missile has played a key role owing to its speed, and plasma cloud which allows it to remain undetected. Another key missile is Iskander, that can execute unpredictable evasive maneuvers in terminal descent. This is not all. Russia has also used its Oreshnik missile, which has a range of over five thousand kilometres.

It has the ability to fire nuclear weapons. The air-launched Kinzhal hypersonic missile is another vital weapon in its arsenal. With Russian President Vladimir Putin ruling out a ceasefire on long-range strikes on Ukraine, it is apparent that the battlefield action is unlikely to stop anytime soon.