Russia fires old X-55 missiles at Ukraine, which Kyiv once handed over to Moscow – intelligence
After another Russian shelling in October, representatives of Ukrainian intelligence noticed something strange among the rubble.
It was the wreckage of the Kh-55 subsonic cruise missile, developed in the 1970s, with a nuclear warhead. The warhead was removed and ballast was added to disguise the fact that it was not carrying a payload. In an interview with The New York Times, General Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of Intelligence of Ukraine, told about this.
But that’s not all that the special services found. The missile was manufactured at a Ukrainian arms factory.
According to Skibitsky, the missile and the bomber that delivered it were part of a cache of weapons transferred to Russia by Ukraine in the 1990s as part of an international agreement aimed at ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The following month, Ukrainian forces found the remains of two more X-55 missiles, both with their warheads removed, and both were part of the same tranche of weapons that Ukraine sent to Russia under the deal.
Russia used Ukraine’s own weapons as a decoy for shelling. They served a strategic purpose: launching such missiles forces Ukraine to mobilize its air defense system against them.
‘First the X-55 missile is launched; we are reacting to it, said General Skibitsky. ‘It’s like a false goal.’
According to him, after the introduction of Ukrainian air defense, Russian bombers launch more modern missiles with destructive warheads.
The use of old cruise missiles – including those built in Ukraine decades ago – is just one element of a complex and deadly conflict in which deception plays a major role alongside combat on the battlefield.
As part of a 1990s deal known as the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear arsenal – the world’s third largest at the time, inherited from the Soviet Union – and hand over all nuclear warheads to Russia for decommissioning in exchange for assurances security
‘All ballistic missiles, Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers were also handed over,’ said General Skibitsky. – Now these bombers are using Kh-55 missiles against us. It would be better if we handed them over to the USA.’
It will be recalled that General Skibitsky believes that Russia has missiles left for 3-5 large-scale attacks.
