Russia likely removing nuclear warheads from missiles and firing at Ukraine - British intelligence

Russia is likely removing the nuclear warheads from ageing nuclear cruise missile and firing the unarmed munitions at Ukraine.

The British Defense Ministry said this in its latest intelligence update posted on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

“Open source imagery shows wreckage of an apparently shot-down AS-15 KENT air launched cruise missile (ALCM), designed in the 1980s exclusively as a nuclear delivery system. The warhead had probably been substituted for ballast,” the ministry said.

It is noted that although such an inert system will still produce some damage through the missile’s kinetic energy and any unspent fuel, it is “unlikely to achieve reliable effects against intended targets.”

The British Defense Ministry suggests that Russia may use such missiles “as decoys and divert Ukrainian air defences”.

“Whatever Russia’s intent, this improvisation highlights the level of depletion in Russia’s stock of long-range missiles,” the ministry said.

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