Russia likely upgraded Kalibr missiles, overcoming Ukraine’s previous 100% interception rate – Defense Express

Military expert Valery Ryabykh, director of development at the media and consulting company Defense Express, made this statement during a broadcast on Espreso TV.

"It’s impossible to fully rule out the use of naval assets by the enemy from the Black Sea. And yes, the enemy is using them. Today, we saw the launch of 12 Kalibr missiles, fired in two waves. According to the Ukrainian Air Force’s published data, some of these missiles were shot down. There’s no info on others, so it’s possible they reached their targets. This suggests that the enemy may be improving the Kalibr missiles — missiles that our Defense Forces used to shoot down with 100% certainty. It could also mean that special tactics are being used to boost the effectiveness of these strikes," he said.

Valery Ryabykh added that while the Ukrainian Defense Forces have made strong progress in the Black Sea against the Russian threat, there’s still room to improve.

"To achieve full control in the maritime direction, Ukraine definitely needs to scale up efforts, including creating new systems — like the ones we’re now seeing — that can patrol the Black Sea in standby mode and respond quickly to such threats. Unfortunately, we haven’t yet reached that level of tech. Still, what the Ukrainian Navy and Defense Forces have done in the Black Sea will go into history textbooks — because a country without a fleet was able to hold off an enemy with a full-fledged navy. And for the first time since World War II, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet was destroyed," the military expert noted.

• On the evening of Wednesday, April 23, Russian forces launched strike drones at Ukrainian territory. Later, during the night of April 24, Kalibr missile launches were confirmed. Kyiv suffered the most, there are reports of dead and injured. Fires broke out in nine regions.
• That night, Russian forces carried out a combined strike on Ukraine using missiles launched from air, land, and sea platforms, along with Shahed-type strike UAVs and other simulator drones. Ukrainian defenders shot down 48 missiles and 64 drones.