Russia has been targeting Ukrainian military airfields lately. This time, Russia aimed its Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles at pilots who are on their way to master Western fighters, Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has told the telethon.
"This time it's Ivano-Frankivsk Region, and this time our young people, our young pilots, who are going to start their training soon, are in the crosshairs. Young pilots will be trained under a different programme, and we know that the UK and other countries will train them for a new type of aircraft, Western equipment, primarily F-16s," said Ihnat.
He noted that Russia wanted to deprive Ukraine of the prospects of "further rearmament with the latest Western models of equipment".
"We have information that all four [Kinzhals] were heading for Ivano-Frankivsk Region," he added.
On 11 August, at around 10 a.m., the Russians fired four Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles. The missiles were launched from Russia's Tula and Lipetsk regions. One missile was shot down. The air targets were heading southwest to the Kolomyya airfield.
According to the Ivano-Frankivsk regional military administration, a child was killed and some people were wounded in the missile attack.