"Shot Down a Russian Missile"... Kindergarten Female Teacher's First Real Combat Experience

Portable missile weapon shoots down Russian missile
"Carrying an 18kg launcher, heavy responsibility"

A Ukrainian soldier, formerly a kindergarten teacher, shot down a Russian 'cruise missile.' It is reported that this was her first combat deployment.

On the 18th (local time), Ukrainian local media including Kyiv Post, citing the Western Air Command's Facebook, reported that Natalia Hravarchuk, an army soldier belonging to the unit, shot down a Russian cruise missile in flight using a portable surface-to-air missile (MANPADS).

Natalia Hravarchuk of the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces. Photo captured from Facebook

In the released video, Hravarchuk is seen aiming the MANPADS mounted on her shoulder from what appears to be a high place on a building rooftop. Moments later, the projectile is launched with a backblast and soars into the air. Afterwards, an explosion is heard from a distance, and her comrade shouts, "Hit, hit."

The moment Hrabarchuk shoots down a Russian cruise missile. Facebook capture

The video is estimated to have been filmed on the 17th, when Russian forces launched a massive airstrike against Ukraine. At that time, the Russian military deployed about 210 weapons including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and suicide drones. These weapons were reportedly targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

The Western Air Command claims to have shot down 31 missiles and 1 drone. The cruise missile shot down by Hravarchuk is known to be the Russian-made Kh-101.

The Kh-101 missile shot down by Hlavarchuk. Captured from the military media The War Zone.

The MANPADS used by Hravarchuk is a portable missile launched by infantry directly aiming at the target. However, its range is very short, so it is usually a weapon used to counter low-altitude flying objects such as drones and helicopters. It is known to be very difficult to shoot down advanced missiles flying hundreds of kilometers with MANPADS.

Hravarchuk achieved the feat of shooting down a cruise missile on her first combat launch. Just three years ago, she was an ordinary kindergarten teacher, but after the outbreak of war, she volunteered to join the Western Air Command's radio technology brigade's anti-air missile unit as an artillery gunner. She said, "I felt a responsibility to achieve good results carrying the 18 kg launcher," and added, "Although I went through hundreds of simulation trainings, shooting down a missile was not easy."

She continued, "Only after hitting the missile did my emotions pour out," emphasizing, "There are a few more female colleagues in our unit, and all of us are doing our best to protect our homeland."