Defense Express: Russia likely hits Poltava with Iskander-M missiles that cover 50 km in 23 seconds

Riabykh shared this opinion on Espreso TV, stating, “It’s highly probable that the Russians used an Iskander-M missile for the strike on Poltava. These ballistic missiles move quickly from the moment they are detected to impact. Unfortunately, very few places in Ukraine are protected by anti-missile systems at the moment. Our Defense Forces are currently unable to intercept these missiles or their carriers. This is partly because our allies have not yet decided whether to allow Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russian territory.”

He also pointed out that Ukraine lacks systems capable of tracking ballistic missile launches.

“Iskander missiles have a range of 50 to 500 kilometers. Once launched, they cover 50 kilometers in just 23 seconds, and the Iskander-M ballistic missile can reach its maximum range in about 238 seconds - that’s only a few minutes. We don’t know for sure, but it’s unlikely we have ground-based systems capable of tracking ballistic missile launches. Such tracking requires specialized systems. Our current control systems can only detect these missiles once they’re on a specific trajectory, which means we have only about 40-50% of the missile's flight time to detect it. This leaves just a few minutes to evacuate to shelters, which makes evacuating many people practically impossible,” he added.

• On September 3, Russian forces launched an attack on an educational institution in Poltava, striking it with two ballistic missiles. The attack resulted in the deaths of 47 people and left 206 others wounded. Mourning was declared in the city.