Military Watch:

Russia Launches First Ever Kh-22 Cruise Missile Strike on Kiev: Why Are They Near Impossible to Shoot Down?

Eastern Europe and Central Asia , Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

January-24th-2026

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Tu-22M3 Bomber with Kh-22 Missiless

The Russian Aerospace Forces on January 24 for the first time launched Kh-22 cruise missiles to strike the Ukrainain capital Kiev, with 12 reportedly fired against targets in the city. The missiles are carried by Tu-22M3 strategic bombers exclusively, with their 6,000 kilogram weights making them to large to be effectively deployed by fighter-sized aircraft. The Kh-22 has been used extensively since the outbreak of full scale hostilities in February 2022, due in part to the sheer size of the Soviet arsenals which Russia  managed to keep in storage in good condition, which made them readily available. The age of the missiles, which are nearing their decommissioning dates, means they would soon need to be disposed of regardless of the situation in Ukraine, making it highly cost effective to utilise them in combat. 

Kh-22 Cruise Missile

Ukrainian Air Force Command spokesperson Yury Ignat previously singled out the capabilities of the Kh-22 cruise missile, noting that Ukrainain air defences had consistently been unable to intercept them. “I emphasise that it is impossible to shoot down Kh-22 missiles with the means we have in our arsenal,” he observed, highlighting the missile’s sheer speed as the reason. By late 2023 Russian forces had in less than two years fired approximately 300 Kh-22 missiles at targets across Ukraine, with Ukrainian air defences having failed to intercept a single one. Although Ukrainian sources have since claimed successful shootdowns, the veracity of these assertions remains in question, particularly considering both the history of claimed shootdowns that later proved to be false, and the limitations of air defence systems in service. 

Tu-22M3 Bomber with Kh-22 Cruise Missile

The Kh-22 first entered frontline service in 1962, but still has few rivals in the world in terms of flight performance. The missiles were designed for anti-shipping roles to penetrate the multi layered air defences of U.S. Navy carrier strike groups, and achieved this with irregular trajectories and a very high near hypersonic speed of Mach 4.6. Although Russia has expanded its capacity for the production of multiple types of cruise and ballistic missile to several times the levels seen before 2022, production nevertheless remains dwarfed by the scales seen in the Soviet era, meaning once Kh-22 stocks are depleted, the country is unlikely to field a similarly large arsenal of air-launched long ranged cruise missiles again. 

Surface-to-Air Missile Launcher From S-200 Air Defence System

Despite its strengths Kh-22’s suitability for land attack roles has nevertheless been called into question, with its guidance systems having been developed in the late 1950s to be able to home in on enemy warships, which has limited its ability to distinguish targets from ground clutter. Although Ukrainian forces may not have successfully shot down any of the missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force did succeed in April 2024 in shooting down a Tu-22M3 bomber, which was credited by Western and Ukrainian sources to a Soviet S-200 air defence system. The S-200 system was notably not in service in the Ukrainian Air Force when open hostilities with Russia broke out in February 2022, but the systems are reported to have either been brought out of storage or sent as aid from Poland which still relied on the heavily for its own defence. The system’s 300 kilometre engagement range has few rivals in the world, and makes it ideal for targeting large high value aircraft like the Tu-22M3.