"The Response Should Be A Ballistic Missile Strike On Moscow."
- 29.01.2026, 16:35
Military expert urged to mirror attacks on Ukraine.
Ukraine's defense forces reported shooting down Russian warplanes in various directions, one of them in the vicinity of Snake Island.
What is now known about the elimination of the Russian planes?
About this, Charter97.org talked to the AFU colonel in reserve, military expert and flight instructor Roman Svitan.
- At the moment, the AFU General Staff has confirmed the destruction of one plane. The second aircraft could have crashed or been hit. Two planes were damaged, one of them fell with the crew, and the crew died - this is confirmed by the General Staff.
The General Staff's confirmation comes after deciphering the means of operational control. We can say that one of the planes fell.
One plane was damaged in the Kursk direction, the second - in the area of Zmeiny Island. This is the work of the AFU's means of defeat, which have recently been transferred by our partners for offensive operations - either on enemy territory or over the waters of the Black Sea.
It could be missile ambushes or "on sight" firing, it could be Patriot operating in maneuver mode, it could be another system with a longer range to intercept Russian fighters.
In addition, we are transferred a considerable number of aircraft that can come in with long-range interception missiles. It could be the Mirage, the F-16. The AIM-120 missile, which we have long requested, could also fulfill a certain combat mission. Ukrainian capabilities to destroy Russian equipment are increasing.
- Why was the occupiers' Su-34 near legendary Snake Island - what task was it performing?"
- The direction of Snake Island suggests that the Su-34 is a front-line bomber. Its main purpose is to drop bombs. It could drop corrected aerial bombs - KABs - in the direction of the Odessa region. This direction is mainly to Zatoka, to the Danube, to the Dniester. Ukraine has an economic component there, certain traffic and economic cargoes go there. And recently there have been strikes on Odessa ports, on maritime traffic, including the rivers of the Danube and Dniester groups. That's why, I think, this was the task.
Either work with KABs or missiles. Su-34s use Kh-59, Kh-69 missiles, which can also be used. These are already long ranges, hundreds of kilometers, for pinpoint destruction of maritime traffic.
But it was intercepted. I think the Su-34 repeatedly entered this combat course, just practicing the direction. Eventually the decision was made to intercept it. Most likely, either SAMs were deployed, which I have already mentioned, to work in missile ambush mode, firing "on sight", or Ukrainian aviation worked. Moreover, Romania is nearby - it can help with its airfields and especially with radar data through the Link-16 system.
- You mentioned that Russian aviation uses KABs en masse, including at the front. What do Ukrainian air defense systems need to successfully fight Russian aviation, including defense against KABs strikes?"
- Yes, indeed. The occupiers' main weapon for breaking through the AFU's defense lines is free-fall aerial bombs. But since Russian planes cannot enter our theater of operations without hindrance, they use the same bombs with correction and planning systems - KABs.
They are dropped at a range of 50-70 kilometers, but at the same time the planes are forced to go to heights of 10 kilometers and higher. That is, any Russian airplane suitable for dropping KABs is "lit up like a Christmas tree." It can be shot down if there are means of defeat with a range of about 100 kilometers. This is Patriot, this is SAMP/T, this is modernized S-300 with new missiles. There are missiles under the S-300 with a range of up to 200 kilometers. The S-200 can intercept targets up to 250 kilometers away - also, by the way, it was not a bad system in its time. Plus aviation means of defeat - missiles such as MICA, AIM-120, with a range of 100-120 kilometers, plus AIM-120D, which can intercept targets up to 150 kilometers.
If these means appear in Ukraine in sufficient quantity, we can ensure safety from the use of KABs on our territory - to push back the Russian aviation at a safe distance. The main thing is the range of defeat, about 100 kilometers.
- Vladimir Zelensky recently announced the successful repulsion of a Shahed attack on Kiev. What does the AFU need to fight more effectively against the occupiers' drones?"
- To fight drones, of which there will be many, it is necessary to create a dense frontal short-range air defense that will prevent Russian drones from flying over the front line, the so-called no-fly frontal zone.
To do this, we need a sufficient number of crews, mobile teams, machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, portable anti-aircraft missile systems, short-range SAMs. Such complexes are already being transferred to Ukraine. R-73 missiles are used - old Soviet ones, but they are used. The British have transferred MANPADS for these missiles. They also use Raven - a short-range surface-to-air missile system based on the ASRAAM missile, an analog of AIM-9.
Plus we need interceptor drones, which already accelerate to 300 km/h and destroy a wide range of Russian and Russian-Chinese drones - "Geraniums" and others. Of course, their components and assemblies are mostly Chinese - everyone knows this very well.
This dense frontal air defense will prevent the enemy from overcoming the front line. Next important is the objective, rear air defense: helicopters, which perform very well, light-engine aviation, fighters.
This is a multi-echelon defense:
- up to a kilometer - helicopters,
- from a kilometer to 3-4 km - light-engine aviation,
- above - fighters. They will intercept drones and cruise missiles that have penetrated deep into the territory.
Plus medium and long-range SAMs are needed for site air defense. The result is a multi-echeloned, mosaic system that can cover up to 500,000 square kilometers of unoccupied Ukrainian territory from the aerial targets of the Russian occupiers.
The problem remains in ballistics. There are only two ways to defend against ballistic missiles: anti-missile anti-ballistic complexes and mirror ballistic strikes. There are not enough anti-missile systems in the world to cover the territory of Ukraine.
That is why the main thing is mirror ballistic strikes. Ukraine does not have them yet. Any ballistic strike by Russia on Ukraine should be followed by a ballistic strike on Moscow. Then, to put it mildly, the Russians will lose the desire to use such means of defeat.