Ukraine's Air Defense has difficulty downing Oniks missiles

Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stated this.

“The Oniks missiles are designed to destroy ships and watercraft. They fly at a very high speed of over 3000 km per hour, which is more than Mach 2.6. During their journey, they can fly high to save fuel and then approach the target just 10-15 meters above the water to attack the ship,” he said.

The military explained that this low-flying tactic makes it challenging for Ukrainian air defense forces to detect and shoot down these missiles.

"It's hard to fight against such missiles, but we can influence them to some extent with electronic warfare methods. That's why we see that not all missiles successfully hit their targets," the spokesman said.

He also mentioned that the available air defense equipment in Ukraine may not be able to shoot down Oniks missiles when they are flying at high speed and low altitude.

"We observe that some of these missiles do not reach their intended targets; this includes both the Kh-22 and the Oniks missiles. However, some of them do hit their targets, and we see the consequences, like damage to piers and residential buildings," Ihnat added.

What is known about the night attack on July 20:

Russian airstrikes caused damage in Odesa and Mykolaiv. In Odesa, the administration building was destroyed, and 4 people were injured. In Mykolaiv, a fire broke out in a residential building, resulting in fatalities and at least 18 people injured.

Ukrainian air defense successfully destroyed 18 enemy targets, which included 2 Kalibr missiles, 3 Iskander missiles, and 13 Shahed drones.

In total, the Russians launched 38 rounds, including:

• 7 winged Oniks missiles from the Bastion coastal missile complex in Crimea.

• 4 Kh-22 air-launched cruise missiles fired from eight Tu-22MZ aircraft in the Black Sea.

• 3 Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles, believed to be launched from a submarine in the Black Sea.

• 5 Iskander-K land-based cruise missiles from the Crimean peninsula, which is currently under Russian occupation.

• 19 attack UAVs of the Shahed-136/1 type.