An X-55 with a simulator of a nuclear warhead was shot down near Kiev again, and the Russians began to disguise the X-101
This is at least the fourth time when the enemy used this type of cruise missile to distract air defense forces
The Russians again used the Kh-55 missile with a nuclear simulator, the so-called ‘special’ combat unit, during the launch. According to information provided by Defense Express from its own sources, such a missile was destroyed on the approach to Kyiv from the south-eastern direction. Its wreckage was found in the Boryspil region.
It should be noted that for the first time, our publication reported on the use of the X-55 with a mass-sized model of a nuclear charge back on November 17.
Subsequently, this information was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine during a press briefing on December 1. It also reported that another Kh-55 with a simulator was destroyed in Khmelnytskyi and Lviv regions at distances of 40 and 80 km from the border of NATO member states. That is, this is already, at least, the fourth case.
Defense Express previously described the main versions of the use of such cruise missiles, which could include intimidation, reconnaissance of radar positions or jamming, error and corruption, as well as the role of additional factually false targets to overload the capabilities of air defense systems. Subsequently, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was informed that the Russian Federation uses the Kh-55 with simulators precisely for the purpose of distracting the air defense forces.
Also, several sources report that the Russians began to disguise their Kh-101 missiles – to erase the serial numbers on the missile body with a Bulgarian so that it was impossible to identify the approximate date of manufacture. The fact is that the serial number contains information about the year, quarter, batch and serial number of the missile in the batch.
This made it possible to assess the pace and order of use of these missiles. At the same time, it is already known that the Russian military began to use the X-101 produced in the last quarters of 2022. Not only that, it can only hinder the quick identification of the wreckage, because all the internal components and assemblies of the rocket also have their serial numbers, and it is quite difficult to destroy them without completely overhauling the rocket in factory conditions.
According to the message posted by the press service on the page of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the enemy fired a total of 55 missiles: Kh-101, Kh-555, Kh-47 ‘Dagger’, ‘Caliber’, Kh-59. The Air Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed 47 cruise missiles, 20 of which were in the Kyiv area, and three more out of four guided Kh-59s did not reach their targets. We should also note that the designation Kh-47 ‘Dagger’ attracts special attention.
There is preliminary information about hits, in particular one in Kyiv, perhaps a shot down missile fell in the Dnipro region on the left bank, two energy infrastructure objects were damaged in Odesa region, there is also one hit in Vinnytsia region.
