Pictured: Russia’s new ultra-low-flying missile that destroyed Kyiv power plant
Russian forces used a new subsonic air-to-surface Kh-69 cruise missile to destroy a power station near Kyiv this week, Ukrainian sources have said.
The Kh-69 improves the range of Russian air-to-surface missile attacks to 250 miles from 190 miles and is fired by fast fighter jets rather than more cumbersome Russian bombers.
The missile can fly as low as 20m, according to reports.
Major Ilya Yevlash, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that Kh-69 missiles posed a new problem for Ukraine’s depleted missile defence systems as they are quick and easy to deploy.
“These are fresh missiles with parts manufactured in 2023. So we can see that Russia is constantly trying to produce new missiles,” he told Ukrainian media.
Ukraine has been begging for more weapons from the West, especially missile-defence systems, which it has said are now depleted.
The Kremlin has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and the missile strike on Thursday destroyed the Trypilska thermal power station, one of the largest in Ukraine.
Major Yevlash said that US-supplied Patriot air-defence missiles can shoot down Kh-69 missiles but Ukraine needed these quickly.
“The Kh-69 missile is a new missile for us, so we are, among other things, studying how we can shoot it down,” he added.
Analysts have said that Russia has gained the initiative along the front line in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, because it can produce far more weapons than Ukraine and because it has updated its missiles.
As well as the new Kh-69 subsonic missile, the Kremlin has fired “glide bombs” at Ukrainian soldiers and towns. These are standard bombs that have been modified to increase their range and precision.
The US and its allies have under-delivered arms to Ukraine since its failed counteroffensive last summer, whereas the Kremlin has signed deals with Iran and North Korea and switched its civilian manufacturing base to arms.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said that the appearance of the Kh-69 missile in Ukraine was an indication of the Kremlin’s determination to win its war in Ukraine by adapting its arms production.
“We have not previously observed Russian use of Kh-69 missiles in Ukraine,” it said.
