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Russia Can Hit Grain Vessels With Kh-22 Missiles, No Protection Yet

russia's Tu-22M3 bomber with Kh-22 cruise missile / Illustrative photo from open sources
russia's Tu-22M3 bomber with Kh-22 cruise missile / Illustrative photo from open sources

Ukrainian Navy needs weapons to protect shipping, in particular, from russian aerial attack threats

Even when the Ukrainian Naval Forces are able to completely unblock shipping in the Black Sea for the passage of bulkers with grain, the threat of enemy missile strikes on such vessels will remain the same.

At the same time, the russians can use both coastal missile complexes of the Bal and Bastion types, as well as Kh-22 supersonic cruise missiles launched from Tu-22M3 bombers. This opinion was expressed by the Commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, vice admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa, in his interview with ArmyInform.

Read more: Armed Forces of Ukraine Destroyed Russian Military Base in Occupied Melitopol
Russians Can Hit Grain Trucks With Kh-22 Missiles, No Protection Yet, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war
russia's P-800 anti-ship missile launch of the Bastion complex / Illustrative photo from open sources

As long as the threat persists, there is no question of a full restoration of shipping to the Black Sea ports of Ukraine.

Therefore, "a solution to the issue of ensuring the safety of civil shipping is possible only if the Ukrainian Naval Forces acquire such capabilities that would allow it to respond adequately to enemy threats," Neizhpapa stressed.

Russians Can Hit Grain Trucks With Kh-22 Missiles, No Protection Yet, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war
Ukraine's Yuri Olefirenko mid-size landing ship performing tasks / Photo credit: Ukrainian Navy press service

At the same time, the Commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine said that now Ukraine’s fleet has essentially created a "closed access zone" for ships of the russian Navy at a distance of 100-150 km from the Black Sea coast of Ukraine. The area of the A2AD zone for enemy ships reaches 20 thousand square kilometers in the waters of the Black Sea sea.

Russians Can Hit Grain Trucks With Kh-22 Missiles, No Protection Yet, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war
R-360 rocket launch of the Neptune complex / Illustrative photo

The Naval Forces of Ukraine actively use the Neptune anti-ship complex to protect Ukraine’s shores from enemy ships. But all possible details about the use of this complex can be revealed already after russia’s defeat.

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