Ukraine Video Shows Soldier Down Russian Cruise Missile with MANPADS

New footage appears to show a Ukrainian fighter firing a man-portable air defense system, also known as MANPADS, at a Russian cruise missile to intercept the incoming attack.

The brief, grainy clip, widely shared online—including by Anton Gerashchenko, a former adviser to Ukraine's internal ministry—appears to show a Ukrainian soldier dressed in casual wear firing the shoulder-launched missiles from what looks to be the edge of a wooded area.

Several voices can be heard celebrating after an apparent interception of a Russian missile.

It is unclear where or when the video was filmed, and Newsweek could not independently verify the footage. The Ukrainian military and Russian Defense Ministry have been approached for comment via email.

Ukraine has received several types of MANPADS, which it has effectively leveraged against Russian forces, including U.S.-made Stinger missiles and the British short-range StarStreak.

To date, the U.S. has provided more than 2,000 Stinger missiles for Ukrainian troops, according to Pentagon documents.

MANPADS are often operated by a single person firing the missile from their shoulder, and the system is easily movable around a battlefield as needed. They have been credited by Kyiv with taking out targets such as Russian fighter jets or helicopters, and smaller targets including drones.

Over the weekend, Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade shared footage appearing to show one of its soldiers using a shoulder-fired surface-to-air weapon to intercept a Russian Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.

They form apart of Ukraine's network of different air defense systems. Small caliber machine guns and man-portable systems work alongside much larger systems, like Patriot batteries or National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS).

Recent aid packages, including from Kyiv's single-largest donor of military assistance, the U.S., have focused on Ukraine's deep need for additional air defenses to fend off persistent and often destructive missile barrages.

Earlier this month, the U.S. pledged to send to Ukraine another Patriot system, considered the gold standard of air defense. Kyiv has long pleaded for additional Patriot systems.

As NATO's summit kicked off in Washington last week, U.S. President Joe Biden said several members of the alliance, including the U.S., would furnish Ukraine with "dozens" of air defense systems in the next few months. Germany and Romania will also send Patriot batteries to Ukraine, Biden said, and the Netherlands and "other partners" will contribute components to get another new Patriot battery operational.

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