Russia destroyed S-300 given to Ukraine by Slovakia
Russia said on Apr. 11, 2022 that it had used cruise missiles to destroy S-300 anti-aircraft missile system which had been supplied to Ukraine by an unidentified European country, Reuters reports.
Russia launched Kalibr cruise missiles on Apr. 10, 2022 against four S-300 launchers which were concealed in a hangar on the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the defence ministry said.
Russia said 25 Ukrainian troops were hit in the attack.
“High-precision sea-launched Kalibr missiles destroyed the equipment of a S-300 anti-aircraft missile division which had been delivered to the Kyiv regime by a European country,” the ministry said.
Although Russia did not say which country had supplied the S-300 systems, as already reported the only European country to have donated such a missile system to Ukraine is Slovakia, that is also a NATO member.
However, Lubica Janikova, Slovak government spokesperson, said “Our S-300 was not destroyed.”
The Russian defence ministry said that Russian forces also shot down two Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft near the city of Izium and destroyed two ammunition depots, one of which was near the southern city of Mykolaiv.
Donating MiG-29 fighter jets
As we have explained on Apr. 11, 2022 Slovakia’s Prime Minister Eduard Heger also said that his country is willing to donate its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine if an arrangement can be made to secure the country’s own airspace.
Western nations have increasingly started supplying weapons but earlier discussions on providing MiG-29s – which are also used by Poland and Bulgaria – were halted because those plans were perceived as too risky in increasing tensions between Russia and NATO.
Slovakia, a NATO member and Ukraine’s neighbor, operates a fleet of 12 MiG-29 fighter jets.
Ukraine has asked for heavy weapons and planes as part of its defense against Russia, which invaded on Feb. 24.
Photo credit: Russian Ministry of Defence and Łukasz Golowanow via Wikipedia
