On July 28, Ukraine fired two modified S-200 anti-aircraft missiles (NATO calls them SA-5 Gammon) toward southwestern Russia, signaling a possible escalation in missile attacks inside Russian territory.
Unprecedented Strike
One of those missiles fell and exploded in Taganrog, which is about 50 kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border and less than 160 kilometers from the front line. The Russian Defense Ministry added that its air defense systems had successfully detected and intercepted the missile fired by Ukraine. However, debris from the weapon fell on the city of Taganrog, damaging several buildings.
The governor of Russia’s Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, said on his Telegram channel that the focus of the rocket explosion was the premises of the Taganrog art museum.
As a result of the explosion, the walls, garages and roof of the building were destroyed. In addition, the windows and balconies of a nearby three-story apartment building were damaged.
Golubev added that air defense systems also intercepted a second missile in the Azov region. However, no details regarding this incident have been revealed yet, so we don’t know the consequences of stopping it.
In the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack on the city of Taganrog, images and videos have been posted on social media showing the extent of the incident, which sent 9 people to hospital with mild to serious injuries.
A stunning video captured the moment the 8-tonne rocket hit a city block, damaging a cafe and an apartment building.
The moment a Russian missile struck the Russian city of Taganrog in Rostov, around 200 kilometers from the frontline.
The incident marks the first time that Russia’s Taganrog has been targeted by Kyiv. Before the recent attack on Taganrog, Ukraine had fired an S-200 missile at Bryansk, Russia, about 180 kilometers from the border of the two countries, hitting an industrial area.
In retaliation for the Taganrog strike, Russia launched a missile attack against a high-rise building and the Ukrainian security service in Dnipro on July 28, injuring at least 5 people.
Finally, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Moscow’s interior ministry, said the country had the right to take “harsh retaliatory actions” in response to the missile attacks in Taganrog.
