The General Staff has successfully launched rocket carriers into space on two occasions during full-scale operations
This was stated in an interview with RBC-Ukraine by MP Fedir Venislavskyi, who chairs the subcommittee on state security within the Verkhovna Rada’s Defence Committee.
According to the MP, units of the Main Intelligence Directorate have already launched rocket carriers from Ukrainian territory into space on two occasions. The first launch reached an altitude of over 100 km, and the second – 204 km. Both results have been officially recorded by technical means.
“This is a unique situation for a country currently in a state of full-scale war. In other words, Ukraine already has the technical capability to counter such enemy attack systems and destroy them in space,” said Venislavsky.
According to him, these were not experiments, but the execution of real combat missions under the leadership of the then head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov.
“We have missiles that almost no one knows about, but which are capable of striking enemy territory at a range of up to 500 km and flying at hypersonic speeds. And we are using them successfully. But their main purpose is for carrying out extraordinary operations, including those we have just discussed,” noted the MP.
In addition to these launches, the GUR task force carried out another unique mission – launching a missile carrier from a transport aircraft at an altitude of around 8 km.
“This was carried out for the first time on the European continent and for the second time in world history. The US were the first to do this in the mid-1970s. But our launch altitude is a record,” emphasised Venislavsky.
This airborne system could become an “airborne spaceport” in the near future. Launching rockets from the air saves energy by bypassing the dense layers of the atmosphere, which significantly increases the range and effectiveness of strikes, the MP explained. The system is planned to be used both for peaceful purposes and to counter Russian ‘Oreshnik’ missiles.
“These are unique results of the work carried out by our group, led by the Main Intelligence Directorate. We are currently continuing to work in this direction,” concluded Venislavsky.
