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Russia launched a new wave of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine on Thursday.
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Among the weapons used was the Kh-22, an old Soviet-style missile designed to sink aircraft carriers.
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Its use is an example of Russia’s “kitchen sink approach,” a missile expert told Insider.
russian army Launched a new wave of attacks on Ukraine this weekThis involved firing at least 81 missiles and eight Iranian-made suicide drones in multiple cities across the country.
Russia used a variety of weapons for deadly attacks, including the K-22. old soviet missile It is designed to sink and destroy carrier groups at sea rather than destroying buildings.
Ukrainian military spokesman Yury Inat said on Thursday that the attack was “very large” and that it was the first time Russia had “used such different types of missiles”. CNN reported.
He said the Ukrainian military “has no ability to counter” weapons like the Kh-22. It is highly unpredictable and inaccurate when used against ground targets.
The Kh-22, with a 2,000-pound warhead, was also used in January when Russia blew up apartment buildings in central Ukraine, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 80.
The use of missiles shows Russia’s reliance on a “sink-sink approach,” Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Institute for Strategic and International Studies, told Insider on a conference call in January. told to
“Everything is being seen right now. It’s just getting mixed up. You see new missiles and old missiles…they really just want to hit something,” Williams said.
He said the Kh-22 missile was “basically used as a terrorist weapon” and was completely disconnected from its actual military purpose.
The Russians are using all sorts of projectiles to “flood Ukrainian airspace with a lot of junk, confusing and overwhelming the air defense system a bit,” Williams said.
Ukrainian air defenses, bolstered by Western equipment, have so far been remarkably successful in blunt- ing Russian attacks. Another expert previously told Insider. But we can’t stop everything.
Williams said such use of anti-ship missiles betrayed a “short-term approach” by Russia that has reduced its ability to fend off other threats.
He said the K-22 missile was one of “some of the best.” [the Russians] They are using them to attack apartments and warehouses when they have to fend off the US Navy and NATO Navy.”
“It’s a very short-term mindset. It’s like, ‘Throw them whatever mode you want and you can do now. We’ll deal with it later,'” he said.
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