Russia fires cruise missiles with dummy nuclear warheads at Ukraine

This shows that ruscists are running out of cruise missiles, the number of which is close to a level critical even for the Kremlin itself.

As of 10:40 a.m. November 17, it is known from open sources that the capital’s air defense shot down at least 4 Shahed kamikaze drones and at least two cruise missiles, defence express reports.

According to Defense Express’s confidential sources, one of them (Kh-55 model) did not contain any warhead at all – instead, it contained a dummy imitator of a nuclear warhead. In simple terms, the orcs took at least one Kh-55 missile from their ‘nuclear arsenal,’ ‘unscrewed’ the nuclear warhead and replaced it with a dummy before firing it at Ukraine. Although we should not rule it out that as events develop, at least a few such missiles will be found.

Let’s explain the difference separately. Russia usually used Kh-555 missiles for attacks on Ukraine. Kh -555 is a “non-nuclear” modification of the Kh-55 missile, converted to a conventional warhead with “classic” explosives.

The Kh -55 is a Soviet missile that was originally developed to carry a nuclear payload for the so-called “special warhead” (this is how the soviet and russian military slang refers to a nuclear warhead). Conventional and nuclear warheads are structurally different. That is why the orcs managed to remove the “special warhead” from the Kh-55, but failed to replace it with a conventional warhead. So the Kh-55 with a dummy warhead was used for the attack.

As is always the case in such cases, the ruscists acted irrationally. And such an “anomaly” can have several rational explanations.

The russian military involved in the preparation and execution of another strike readily obeyed the order “from above” to ensure today, November 17, 2022, the massive use of cruise missiles. That’s why the Kh-55 with a dummy nuclear warhead was used. But even this option shows that the stockpile of cruise missiles in the russian federation is being depleted to a level critical for the Kremlin, if cruise missiles from the “nuclear arsenal” are used.

Another possible explanation is that the ruscists deliberately used the Kh-55 with a dummy nuclear warhead to create the effect of overloading the Ukrainian air defense systems.

Indeed, it is quite in the ruscists’ style – “to hammer nails with a microscope.” But this option also shows even more vividly that the missile stockpile of the russian federation is running out. Because at the beginning of the war, the russians used “consumables” to “overload” Ukraine’s air defence, for example, Soviet Tu-243 drones rather than scarce missiles.

In particular, the russian federation is running out of the newer Kh-101 cruise missiles, designed for a conventional warhead (model for delivering nuclear weapons is designated Kh-102).

Defense Express’s confidential sources stated that during the attack on 15 November 2022, a russian Kh-101 was shot down, which was manufactured in the third quarter of this year. Usually, “older” missiles are fired firstand then newer ones are used.

Ukraine Front Lines

Tags: nuke weapons russia ukraine war