Remember when former kindergarten teacher downed a Russian cruise missile in Ukraine?

In November 2024, an all-female air defense crew manned with a 9K38 Igla man-portable air defense system (MANPAD) downed a Russian cruise missile. But there was something spectacular about the incident.

Natalia Hrabarchuk, a former kindergarten teacher and the soldier who shot down the Russian missile, was on her first live combat launch when she destroyed the incoming missile, a feat which was captured on video. 

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On November 17th, Russia launched a large aerial attack on Ukraine that saw hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles fired at targets throughout the country.  

One Russian cruise missile reported to be a Kh-101 subsonic missile was destroyed by Hrabarchuk, an ex-kindergarten teacher turned soldier according to Newsweek. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

Footage of Hrabarchuk’s feat using a man-portable air defense system (MANPAD) was captured by a fellow soldier and posted on social media by the Ukrainian Air Force. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

“On the morning of November 17, soldier Nataliia Hrabarchuk successfully shot down a Russian cruise missile using an Igla MANPADS,” the Ukrainian Air Force post read. “It was her first combat launch and first successful hit!” the post continued. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

In the video, Hrabarchuk can be seen holding the Igla MANPAD and firing it at a target in the sky. It is difficult to tell from the footage whether or not Hrabarchuk actually hit her target, but she does fall to her knees in celebration of her accomplishment. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

Senior soldier Valentyna Steblevets tracked the incoming missile using a tablet to let Hrabarchuk know when the target would be in range while the other senior soldier in the air defense crew, Olha Maksymenko, was recording the operation and captured the successful downing according to The New Voice of Ukraine.

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

Newsweek noted that MANPADs are “portable surface-to-air missiles.” They are guided weapons that “pose a threat to low-flying aircraft.” This includes cruise missiles.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Former advisor to Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry Anton Gerashchenko reported in a post on X that Hrabarchuk was a kindergarten teacher before joining the armed forces. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

Gerashchenko added Hrabarchuk has been “an anti-aircraft gunner of the anti-aircraft missile unit of the Galicia-Volyn radio engineering brigade of the ‘West’ air command” since 2021. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

The Ukrainian military news website Militarnyi reported that Hrabarchuk had spent five months in training mastering various types of MANPADS before she fired her first one and destroyed her first target. 

“When the enemy missile was in front of me, I threw away all emotions and excitement. I had made hundreds of training launches on simulators. And here – the first combat and on target,” Hrabarchuk said about the incident according to Militarnyi

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

“I am very glad that I managed to do it. After the combat work, I let my emotions out a bit. Our mobile firing group includes female soldiers. We make every effort to achieve results and give our best,” Hrabarchuk added. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @kpszsu

Hrabarchuk, Steblevets, and Maksymenko were later presented with an award by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on November 19th. Umerov said their operation protected a key piece of infrastructure on the Rivne Oblast according to the New Voice of Ukraine. 

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Photo Credit: Facebook @rustemumerov.ua