Also, the Buk M1 missile battery commander recalled other cases when the result exceeded expectations.

Photo: Buk M1 can work on one target at a time

Using the Buk M1 anti-aircraft missile system, the Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian aircraft without firing a single missile.

This was told by the commander of the Buk M1 missile battery, Hero of Ukraine Yaroslav Melnyk in an interview with ArmyInform.

“We shot down the plane without firing a single missile. We found the target, and we turned on the illumination radar. At that time, sound messages about radar exposure sounded in the cockpit of the Russian driver. He realized that he had turned from a hunter into a target. Probably, this stunned the pilot so much that he immediately ejected. The plane crashed," Melnik said.

It is noted that the battery under the leadership of Melnyk resisted Russian pilots in the Kharkiv region for more than half a year. They have 28 enemy targets on their account: 11 combat aircraft of various types, two helicopters, two cruise missiles, and 13 drones.

Melnik received the Order of the Golden Star from President Volodymyr Zelensky at a ceremony dedicated to the Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

He also said that at the same time, large groups of enemy aircraft could be in the sky over the Kharkiv region, "sometimes their number exceeded a dozen."

"Our battery stood up to them alone. This means that as soon as we turn on our equipment to detect and capture a target, we will immediately become a convenient and clearly visible target for ten Rashist pilots. As soon as they detect us, they will not hesitate to cancel their flight tasks on the bombardment of troops or facilities and instantly focus on destroying our air defense system," Melnik said.

According to him, the complex can only lead one enemy target, so the crew had very little time to destroy it.

"We had seconds. Turn on the equipment, detect and capture the object. We turn on the illumination radar - in the cockpit of the Russian driver, indicators squeak and light up, signaling to him that he is already our target. All his minions in the sky already know this. We carry out a combat launch, and rapidly we leave our position to escape from anti-radar missiles. During anti-aircraft combat, we "lead" one target. What other planes are doing at this moment - we do not see. But we realize. As a rule, at this time, they are already firing their missiles at us " Melnik said.

He also recalled other cases when the result exceeded expectations.

In particular, about the launch of a rocket, which was made back in 1983, but perfectly fulfilled its task. “I looked at it and doubted whether it would fly to the target. We loaded it and subsequently performed a combat launch. The almost forty-year-old missile destroyed the target. The Russian aircraft fell to the ground after it hit like an autumn leaf. The fall video was filmed by different people from different places and published on the Internet," Melnyk said.

Once again, a launcher that can only hit one target at a time was able to destroy two Russian cruise missiles at once. “We realized that the destruction of even one cruise missile would be a great success. We found the target, carried out a combat launch. Our anti-aircraft missile exploded so that it damaged two Russian cruise missiles with fragments,” Melnik said.