- Russian military deploys new cruise missile The Institute for War Studies stated:
- Kh-69s were used this week in an attack on a major power plant near Kiev.
- The Kh-69 is a breakthrough in Russian tactical weapons.
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The Russian military is deploying a new long-range cruise missile known as the Kh-69 to step up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank, says: friday report It said the new air-to-ground missiles are part of Russia’s “continuing efforts to improve attack packages and penetrate Ukraine’s degraded air defenses.”
In recent weeks, Russia has resumed attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, exploiting Kiev’s waning air defense systems.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy: “We need air defense systems and other defense support, not just turning a blind eye and long discussions.” As mentioned in X’s post.
The post was in response to the Russian missile attack that destroyed the Trypiliya thermal power plant on the night of April 11th. This power plant is one of the main energy suppliers to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian military, the factory was attacked by a new Kh-69 missile.
“ISW has not previously observed the use of Kh-69 missiles by Russia in Ukraine,” it said.
“Russian forces reportedly fired the Kh-69 missile from a distance of 400 km from the target, exceeding the previously estimated range of 300 km and the range of the latest Kh-59MK2 variant of 200 km.” ISW wrote.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Ilya Evrash said: Confirmed Russia announced on Friday that it had launched a new missile during a major air raid on Thursday.
“This is an improved system of the Kh-59 version,” Evrash said.
“We are currently working out what type of missile it was. These are new missiles with parts manufactured in 2023. That means Russia is constantly trying to produce new missiles. I can see that.”
Evrash said Russia manufactures the Kh-69 domestically, but continued production depends on sourcing key components from abroad. ISW analysts said that while Russia’s stockpile and production capacity for the Kh-69 missile is unknown, it is “unlikely that Russia will be able to produce it at significantly higher rates or volumes than other domestically produced missiles.”
Kh-69 is Russia’s newest cruise missile
Reports that Russia is using the Kh-69 first appeared on Ukrainian Telegram channels in early February.
On February 7th, a Ukrainian military blogger Posted A photo purporting to show the destroyed rear fin of the Kh-69 was published on Telegram.Ukrainian war watch account, A report tracking Russian air activity claimed that three Kh-69s were launched over Ukraine on the night of February 7th and 8th.
Last September, the UK-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) report The Kh-69 is still undergoing testing. The newspaper described the missile as “an air-launched ground-attack cruise missile, likely similar to the European Storm Shadow and Taurus KEPD 350 missiles.”
According to “The War Zone” The Kh-69 was developed by Raduga, part of the Russian tactical missile company. The missile weighs approximately 1,700 pounds, has an operating speed of up to 621 miles per hour, and has a choice of either penetrating or cluster warheads up to 680 pounds. The shape of the missile reduces radar effects to some extent.
The Russian military can fire missiles not only from strategic bombers, but also from Su-34 and Su-35 tactical aircraft.