The ‘onion rings’ of defences protecting Ukraine’s cities from Russian missiles
Russian forces launched a huge barrage of 18 missiles at Kyiv on Tuesday. All of them were shot down, Ukraine says.
Using “onion rings” of different guns and missiles provided by the West, Ukraine’s air defences are now increasingly successful at thwarting Russian launches.
From Stinger missiles that can be carried by a single soldier to the cutting edge Patriot systems, Ukraine now has a variety of options to defend its skies.
Sky News spoke to military analyst Philip Ingram about why Kyiv’s air defences are now so effective, and the psychological boost this gives the population.
But first let’s rewind back to 24 February 2022 and the early hours the full-scale invasion when Russia launched more than 100 missiles from land and sea.
Even after missiles are shot down, the debris that falls to the ground can cause damage – seen here in Kyiv on Tuesday
The missiles were fired at several cities including Kyiv and targeted air defence facilities and other military infrastructure. Sirens blared through the capital and the sounds of explosions could be heard downtown, catching many by surprise.
Fourteen months later, Ukraine is much better prepared.
Overnight on Tuesday, Kremlin forces launched six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, nine Kalibr cruise missiles and three ground-launched missiles as well as drones at Ukraine. All were shot down, the country’s air force said.
Ukraine is now shooting down around 96-98% of Russian missiles thanks to a number of defence elements working together, Mr Ingram tells Sky News.
‘Onion rings’ defence
“A layered air defence system is like a series of onion rings of air defence capability,” he said.
At the lowest level, Mr Ingram says, Ukraine has guns and some of the short-range missiles like the Starstreak man-portable system provided by the UK.
“There’ll be lots of those with troops in posts around the cities or areas of critical national infrastructure.”
A Ukrainian soldier holds a Stinger anti-aircraft missile on the frontline in Mykolaiv region in August 2022
Ukraine then has a number of medium-range systems such as the Soviet S-300 and others supplied by its allies.
These provide a medium level anti-aircraft capability and also work against cruise missiles and drones.
And then at the top level they have the Patriot system supplied by the US and Germany.
Mr Ingram added: “And you look at this as a series of protective domes going up to different heights and out to different ranges around the target you’re trying to protect.”
While the defences have certainly been effective in shooting down missiles, it doesn’t mean there is no impact on the ground, he says. Debris from intercepted missiles falls out of the sky and can injure people below.
The warhead of a Kh-47 Kinzhal Russian hypersonic missile that Ukraine says it shot down
How does Ukraine go from detecting a missile to shooting it down?
“So the sequence of events is that Western intelligence will pick up a missile launch – there’s a mechanism to be able to transmit that in real time directly into the Ukrainians.
“That real-time launch data will identify where the missiles have been launched from, what the likely missile is and the likely trajectory that it’s on.”
The amount of time the Ukrainians have to react – from just minutes to more than an hour – depending on the type of missile.
A residential area in Zaporizhzhia heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in May
Those in charge of air defence can then decide on the best course of action and engage the missile before it hits its target.
It’s this multiple layers of defence under a single command and control system informed by intelligence that is coming in all the time that makes it so effective, he says.
What does this mean for Ukraine’s war effort?
“It’s yet another success from the Ukrainians in what is a very, very complex and difficult battle for them as they try to save their homeland,” Mr Ingram says.
Psychologically it’s also very important, he adds, because it’s protecting the population while soldiers are at the front line.
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Inside the battle for Bakhmut
“It’s probably one of the factors that has stopped the Russians using their fixed wing aircraft over Ukrainian territory,” he added.
“The Russians have largely restricted themselves to flying no further forward than their own frontlines.
“Now if the Ukrainians can move air defence capability further forward to their frontlines and put that bubble over their frontline troops that will then push Russian fixed-wing air and rotary-wing air back even further and help the Ukrainians in any counterattack that they’re putting together.”
At least 30 people have been killed in the Syrian city of Sweida in clashes between local military groups and tribes, according to Syria’s interior ministry.
Officials say initial figures suggest around 100 people have also been injured in the city, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups.
The interior ministry said its forces will directly intervene to resolve the conflict, which the Reuters news agency said involved fighting between Druze gunmen and Bedouin Sunni tribes.
It marks the latest episode of sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minority groups have increased since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.
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In March, Sky’s Stuart Ramsay described escalating violence within Syria
The violence reportedly erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida.
Last April, Sunni militia clashed with armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, and fighting later spread to another district near the capital.
But this is the first time the fighting has been reported inside the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly Druze province.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports the fighting was centred in the Maqwas neighbourhood east of Sweida and villages on the western and northern outskirts of the city.
It adds that Syria’s Ministry of Defence has deployed military convoys to the area.
Western nations, including the US and UK, have been increasingly moving towards normalising relations with Syria.
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Concerns among minority groups have intensified following the killing of hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.
That was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria, where a 14-year civil war ended with Assad fleeing to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.
The city of Sweida is in southern Syria, about 24 miles (38km) north of the border with Jordan.
The man convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been charged with sexual assault against an ex-girlfriend.
Rudy Guede, 38, was the only person who was definitively convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Ms Kercher in Perugia, Italy, back in 2007.
He will be standing trial again in November after an ex-girlfriend filed a police report in the summer of 2023 accusing Guede of mistreatment, personal injury and sexual violence.
Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was released from prison for the murder of Leeds University student Ms Kercher in 2021, after having served about 13 years of a 16-year sentence.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Since last year – when this investigation was still ongoing – Guede has been under a “special surveillance” regime, Sky News understands, meaning he was banned from having any contact with the woman behind the sexual assault allegations, including via social media, and had to inform police any time he left his city of residence, Viterbo, as ruled by a Rome court.
Guede has been serving a restraining order and fitted with an electronic ankle tag.
The Kercher murder case, in the university city of Perugia, was the subject of international attention.
Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old British exchange student, was found murdered in the flat she shared with her American roommate, Amanda Knox.
The Briton’s throat had been cut and she had been stabbed 47 times.
(L-R) Raffaele Sollecito, Meredith Kercher and Amanda Knox. File pic: AP
Ms Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were placed under suspicion.
Both were initially convicted of murder, but Italy’s highest court overturned their convictions, acquitting them in 2015.
World
IDF blames ‘technical error’ after Gaza officials say children collecting water killed in strike
The Israeli military says it missed its intended target after Gaza officials said 10 Palestinians – including six children – were killed in a strike at a water collection point.
Another 17 people were wounded in the strike on a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al Awda Hospital.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant but a “technical error with the munition” had caused the missile to fall “dozens of metres from the target”.
The IDF said the incident is under review, adding that it “works to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians as much as possible” and “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians”.
A wounded child is treated after the strike on the water collection point. Pic: Reuters
Officials at Al Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after the Israeli strike on the water collection point and six children were among the dead.
Ramadan Nassar, who lives in the area, said around 20 children and 14 adults were lined up Sunday morning to fill up water.
When the strike occurred, everyone ran and some, including those who were severely injured, fell to the ground, he said.
Blood stains are seen on containers at the water collection point. Pic: Reuters
In total, 19 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health officials said.
Two women and three children were among nine killed after an Israeli strike on a home in the central town of Zawaida, officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.
Israel has claimed it hit more than 150 targets in the besieged enclave in the past day.
The latest strikes come after the Israel military opened fire near an aid centre in Rafah on Saturday. The Red Cross said 31 people were killed.
The IDF has said it fired “warning shots” near the aid distribution site but it was “not aware of injured individuals” as a result.
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The war in Gaza started in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage.
More than 58,000 Palestinians have since been killed, with more than half being women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
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US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.
But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough, as a new sticking point emerged over the deployment of Israeli troops during the truce.
Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
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