GUR's Covert Operations: Ukraine Successfully Launched Rockets Into Space Twice During The War
- 13.04.2026, 9:06
These were not experiments, but the fulfillment of real combat tasks.
During the full-scale war, Ukrainian intelligence officers have twice successfully launched rocket carriers into space.
This was stated in an interview with "RBC-Ukraine" by MP Fedor Venislavsky, who heads the subcommittee on state security of the Verkhovna Rada defense committee.
Details of space launches of the GUR
According to the MP, units of the Main Directorate of Intelligence have already twice launched launch vehicles from the territory of Ukraine into outer space. The first launch took place at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers, and the second - at 204 kilometers. Both results were officially recorded by technical means.
"This is a unique situation for a country that is in a state of full-scale war. That is, Ukraine already has the technical capabilities to counter such means of attack of the enemy and hit them in space," Venislavsky said.
According to him, these were not experiments, but the fulfillment of real combat tasks under the leadership of the then head of the GUR Kirill Budanov.
"We have missiles that almost no one knows about, but which are capable of striking enemy territory at a distance of up to 500 kilometers and flying at hypersonic speeds. And we are successfully using them. But their main purpose is to perform extraordinary operations, including those we have just mentioned," the MP said.
Missile launch from an airplane and "air spaceport"
Besides these launches, the GSD working group performed another unique task - launched a carrier rocket from a transport plane at an altitude of about 8 km.
"This was carried out for the first time on the territory of the European continent and for the second time in world history. The United States was the first to do it in the mid-70s. But our launch altitude is a record," emphasized Venislavsky.
This air system may turn into an "air spaceport" in the near future. Launching missiles from the air saves energy for the passage of dense layers of the atmosphere, which significantly increases the range and effectiveness of defeat, explained the MP.
The system is planned to be used both for peaceful purposes and to counter Russian "Oreshnik" missiles.
"These are unique results of the work of our group, which is led by the GSD. Now we continue to work in this direction," Venislavsky summarized.