Britain says Russia likely removing nuclear warheads from missiles fired at Ukraine
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ukrainian soldiers survey the aftermath of a bombing in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on Nov 25, 2022.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
Follow topic:
LONDON - Russia is likely removing nuclear warheads from ageing nuclear cruise missiles and firing unarmed munitions at Ukraine, Britain’s military intelligence said on Saturday.
The defence ministry said open source imagery shows wreckage of an air launched cruise missile fired at Ukraine that seem to have been designed in the 1980s as a nuclear delivery system, adding that ballast was probably being substituted for the warheads.
Such a system will still produce damage through the missile’s kinetic energy and unspent fuel.
However, it is unlikely to achieve reliable effects against intended targets, the ministry added in its daily intelligence update posted on Twitter.
“Whatever Russia’s intent, this improvisation highlights the level of depletion in Russia’s stock of long-range missiles”, the ministry said. REUTERS
