A video of a Ukrainian soldier shows her appearing to successfully shoot down a Russian cruise missile in her first combat launch.
Natalia Hrabarchuk, who was a nursery schoolteacher before the Russia-Ukraine war, was filmed destroying the Kh-101 long-range missile on Sunday morning during the latest of Russia’s large-scale attacks, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Moscow launched a “massive, combined attack,” of approximately 120 and 90 drones across Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement released early on Sunday.
In the statement, Zelensky said that Moscow had used several types of missiles, including its hypersonic Zircon and Kinzhal missiles and the Irania-designed Shahed strike drones. Kyiv reportedly intercepted more than 140 of the incoming targets, Zelensky said.
The footage of Hrabarchuk, shared on X, formerly Twitter by the Ukrainian Air Force account said that: “On the morning of November 17, soldier Nataliia Hrabarchuk successfully shot down a russian cruise missile using an Igla MANPADS. It was her first combat launch and first successful hit!”
Newsweek could independently verify the veracity of the video.
On the morning of November 17, soldier Nataliia Hrabarchuk successfully shot down a russian cruise missile using an Igla MANPADS. It was her first combat launch and first successful hit! pic.twitter.com/ovDwfVkFe8
— Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) November 17, 2024
The video shows Hrabarchuk firing the Igla Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), which are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons, which pose a threat to low-flying aircraft.
A further post on X, from Anton Gerashchenko, the former adviser to Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry, said that “Nataliia Hrabarchuk was a kindergarten teacher before she joined the Army. Since 2021, she is an anti-aircraft gunner of the anti-aircraft missile unit of the Galicia-Volyn radio engineering brigade of the “West” air command. Glory to Ukrainian Defenders!”
Nataliia Hrabarchuk was a kindergarten teacher before she joined the Army.
Since 2021, she is an anti-aircraft gunner of the anti-aircraft missile unit of the Galicia-Volyn radio engineering brigade of the “West” air command.
Glory to Ukrainian Defenders! https://t.co/2lMtWpTPcZ pic.twitter.com/8MrAW2AQxx
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 17, 2024
President Joe Biden has given Ukraine the green light to use U.S.-provided weapons to launch strikes against Russian territory.
The decision, which has been reported by outlets including Reuters, marks a shift in the conflict.
The move follows months of Kyiv urging the U.S. to authorize long-range strikes into Russian territory. The White House had been resisting due to fears of escalation, but Moscow’s decision to deploy North Korean soldiers to Ukraine has reportedly changed the administration’s thinking.
The Kremlin has since responded to the authorization, with Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin‘s spokesman, saying that such a decision would escalate tensions and deepen U.S. involvement in the ongoing war, which began in February 2022.
Speaking to the radio station Mayak, Peskov said that, “It’s obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps in order to continue fueling the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions.
“If such a decision was really formulated and announced to the Kyiv regime, then of course it’s a qualitatively new spiral of tensions and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of the U.S.’ engagement in the conflict,” he said.
Following the reports of the green light by Biden, alongside the Kremlin’s response, Russian lawmakers and NATO members have warned that this could lead to a global-scale conflict.
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