In its daily bulletin dedicated to monitoring the war in Ukraine dated this Saturday, the British Ministry of Defense made an alarming observation about the arsenal used by the Russians.
According to the institution, Russia uses obsolete cruise missiles, or more precisely dating from the end of the Soviet era, in its conflict against its neighbor, after having removed its nuclear warhead. The ministry sees in this an admission of weakness of the Russian army.
Ballast instead of a warhead
“Russia is likely to remove the nuclear warheads from old nuclear cruise missiles and fire blank munitions at Ukraine,” the statement said. A speculation supported by images in open source (royalty-free) remains of an “apparently downed AS-15 Kent cruise missile, designed in the 1980s,” then “for the sole purpose of serving as a nuclear delivery system.” According to this British analysis, the warhead would be replaced here by ballast.
Doubtful efficacy but likely out of stock
The British Ministry of Defense doubts the effectiveness of such a device: “Although a system so stripped of its substance could still cause damage due to kinetic energy and remaining oil, it is unlikely to be effective against its intended targets.” .
But what would be the interest for the invader to project such a weapon into the Ukrainian sky, while depriving it of its cargo? First, it would be up to Russia to make up for an increasingly apparent shortage: “Whatever the Russian intention, this example of improvisation underscores the reduction of its stock of long-range missiles.”
This work, however, pursues a very specific objective: to destabilize the Ukrainian army. “Russia certainly hopes that these missiles will serve as decoys and confuse Ukraine’s air defense,” the statement read.
Source: BFM TV
