Terrifying moment Putin’s 600mph KH-101 cruise missile rips through the sky & obliterates Ukraine’s largest hydro plant
Footage shows the missile shooting off heat traps shortly before hitting its target
THIS is the terrifying moment Vladimir Putin’s 600mph KH-101 cruise missile obliterates Ukraine’s largest hydro plant.
The £10million weapon of destruction can be seen ripping through the sky before smashing into its target sparking a huge fireball.
The footage shows the Kh-101 shooting off heat traps shortly before hitting the target to reduce its chances of being hit by air defence missiles.
The 24ft missile then collides with its target, sparking an almighty glow in the sky before raging flames soon emerge.
It is believed the plant was hit by at least two missiles and completely stopped generating electricity after the strike.
The strike puts in jeopardy the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, which requires constant external power to prevent a disaster.
“Such a situation is extremely dangerous and threatens to lead to an emergency,” said Petro Kotin, head of Ukraine’s Energoatom nuclear power company.
“If the last remaining line linking the facility to the national power grid is disconnected, (the plant) will get into another blackout, which is a serious violation of the conditions for the safe operation of the plant.”
Ihor Syrota, General Director of PJSC Ukrhydroenergo, confirmed there were two missile strikes on the hydro plant.
“HPP-2 suffered a direct hit,” he said.
“One missile damaged overhead crane beams, hitting the supports.
“So HPP-2 is in critical condition and HPP-1 is also currently out of service.”
The Kh-101 is a line of conventional and nuclear capable air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) designed to defeat air defence systems.
Used by the Russian’s since 2012, the stealthy missile flies at low, terrain-hugging altitudes to avoid radar systems.
The Kh-101 carries a conventional warhead, unlike newer models, and boasts a range of 1,739 miles.
Russia has previously used them in strikes against ISIS targets in Syria following terrorist attacks in 2015.
The latest strike, however, is just another attack in the two year-long war with Ukraine.
But it comes on the same day Putin unleashed hell on civilians using an arsenal of 150 devastating weapons designed to blitz warships and infrastructure.
Eighty-eight missiles and 66 drones were allegedly used in the overnight air attack which could have been Russia’s biggest against Ukraine – ever.
Cruel Putin used the full force of his lethal weaponry to target civilian infrastructure across multiple cities.
Reeling from the deadly overnight attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “There were more than 60 [Iranian-made] ‘Shaheds’ and almost 90 missiles of various types overnight.
“The world sees the targets of Russian terrorists as clearly as possible: power plants and energy supply lines, a hydroelectric dam, ordinary residential buildings, even a trolleybus.”
The numbers of dead and wounded were not immediately clear.
It came just hours after the tyrant blitzed Kyiv with 9,200mph “Dagger” hypersonic missiles just hours before NATO chiefs were due to visit.
Russia is believed to have fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles before dawn on Thursday, marking their first attack on the Ukrainian capital in six weeks.
