Illustrative Image
On the morning of September 19, the Ukrainian military attempted another attack on the Crimean peninsula. This time, the target was the Crimean Bridge.
Russian air defense intercepted four inconspicuous British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The missiles were reportedly shot down at a low-altitude of up to 50 meters halfway to the Crimean Bridge. Russian air defence systems Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M3 destroyed three missiles over Melitopol, another one was shot down near Genichesk.
The launch of British-French missiles was reportedly carried out by Ukrainian Su-24M bombers from the airspace of the Mykolaiv region. The aircraft took off from the Starokonstantinov airfield.
The Ukrainian media hastened to declare that the Crimean Bridge was hit but their reports were immediately refuted. In fact, the smoke seen in the Kerch area was the smokescreen used by the Russian military. The traffic on the bridge was suspended for less than half an hour and was soon resumed. Ukrainian attack failed.
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Due to stealth technologies in the fuselage and the absence of radio exchange, the Storm Shadow cruise missiles are almost invisible for radars. That does not prevent Russian air defense systems from detecting and shooting them down. The red-hot nozzle of the main engine of the missile is clearly visible both in the radar and infrared ranges.
