Vladimir Putin’s army unleashed its new version of the X-69 cruise missile, which completely destroyed a major power station supplying electricity to Kyiv.
The Trypilska plant was targeted on Thursday by multiple Russian missile strikes, along with other power stations throughout Ukraine, leaving 200,000 people without electricity.
The energy station was built to have a capacity of 1,800 megawatts and provided electricity to not just the capital city, but also the Cherkasy and Zhtomyr regions.
Andriy Gota, a top official for the state-owned company Centrenergo that ran the power plant, said “everything is destroyed”.
He added that the scale of the destruction was truly “terrifying” and that the Russians had “destroyed 100 percent”.
Missile parts found amongst the wreckage have been identified as belonging to an updated version of a lethal Russian cruise missile – the X-69.
The new version appears to have a much larger range than the older one, and was designed to be exclusively used for tactical aircraft.
Whereas the older model had a range of 300 km, the new one can reach targets as far away as 400 km.
This has serious implications for Kyiv, as it struggles to cope with a reinvigorated Russian assault.
If the new X-69s are fired from Belarus, a close Russian ally, then practically the entire Ukraine can be hit by these lethal rockets.
The only region that would remain outside the missile’s range is Zakarpattia in the west.
The X-69 is a Russian subsonic cruise missile for tactical aircraft, which can be launched from Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets. It is armed with a 310kg warhead.
It is also able to fly at an ultra-low altitude of 20 metres, making it much more difficult to shoot down.
The missile strike on the Trypilska plant was part of a massive attack on targets accrues Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday.
More than 80 missiles and drones were used in the barrage, with around one third making it through Ukraine’s depleted air defence systems.
President Zelensky has pleaded with his Western allies to supply his army with another 25 Patriot launchers.
After yesterday’s attack, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister repeated calls for further Western military aid during a visit to Slovakia.
Dmytro Kuleba said: “There is only a single question: Give us Patriot systems! If we had Patriots, we would not have lost all of this today.”
