RED ALERT! Russian nuclear-capable Iskander missile ‘goes haywire’ as it hits Ukraine; Kyiv reacts

In light of Moscow’s offensive on the eastern twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Russia aims to “destroy” Donbass.

However, the Russian people may not be immune to its missiles as it continues to shell critical Ukrainian assets. According to a Mirror report, a Russian strike went awry when the Russian Iskander missile completely disintegrated and exploded shortly after launch.

In a video posted online, the rocket “flickers” as its engine appears to misfire, creating the impression of fireworks.

According to one account, the rocket disintegrated without the warhead exploding when the solid propellant exploded. The missile was reportedly launched from the Belgorod region towards Ukraine.

A Ukrainian channel went so far as to mock “the real technological backwardness of the Russian military-industrial complex” in the failure of the missile. He advised the Russian inhabitants of the front line to beware of their own “defenders”, attacking the invading troops.

Another local media report said, “It is possible that the emergency self-destruct system was activated due to engine failure. “In any event, it demonstrates that the Russian military is not doing as well with Iskanders as Russian propaganda claims.”

Image file: Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu

Earlier, EurAsian Times reported that invading troops were using Soviet-era rockets with high payload capacity instead of modern high-precision missiles in a shift in strategy.

There has been speculation that Russia tried to salvage its expensive modern precision-guided missiles after running out of huge stocks.

During a press briefing, Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said: “Lately, we have observed a tendency to skimp on Russia on the use of expensive missiles of high accuracy. Instead, the enemy is increasingly using old Soviet Kh-59 and Kh-22 missiles.

The disintegration of nuclear-capable Iskander does not offer a good offer for the invasion force. Russia projected the missile as a symbol of its military might in addition to the Kalibr cruise missile it fired from the Black Sea.

On June 19, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian Iskander missiles had hit a tank repair plant in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

File Image: The Russian Iskander-M SRBM – Wikimedia Commons

Iskander is a mobile short-range ballistic missile. Two short-range ballistic missiles are part of the Iskander road-mobile missile system, which significantly increases the firepower of missile forces.

It is possible to target each missile independently. Due to the ability to change target coordination while the missile is in flight, these missiles can hit moving targets.

The Iskander is fitted with various conventional warheads, including cluster, fuel-air explosive, bunker-busting, and electromagnetic pulse warheads. It can also carry nuclear warheads. The Iskander variant used by the Russian military is over 400 kilometers long.

Is the Battle of Donbass approaching its climax?

The conflict over the eastern cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk has reached a “scary climax”, according to a key adviser to the Ukrainian president, the BBC reported.

Russian forces could soon encircle the twin towns and cut them off from Ukrainian territory, according to Oleksiy Arestovych, who said “the threat of a Russian tactical victory is there, but they haven’t done it yet.”

The president himself sounded the alarm saying: “There were massive air and artillery strikes in the Donbass. The occupier’s objective is unchanged here; they want to destroy the whole Donbass step by step.

For its part, Russia had previously announced that after taking control of a district on the outskirts of the city, its offensive against Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine was progressing.

Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, the last Ukrainian outposts in the Luhansk region, have recently received increased attention from Russia. Even though the Russian advance slowed due to the Ukrainian counterattack, both outposts would have been shelled daily.

Serhiy Haidai, the regional governor, said on June 23 that troops in the town of Zolote, which has been on the front line since 2014, may be forced to retreat due to the capture of two major settlements south of the towns. .

Russia also simultaneously bombed the Kharkiv region, which had been spared the attack for a time. Kyiv called the strikes a Russian plot to force Ukraine to withdraw resources from Donbass to defend Kharkiv.

It is pertinent to mention that Kharkiv was one of the first regions to be attacked by Russia. However, in recent weeks, Russia has changed its strategy to focus only on the Donbass region.

As the fighting continues unabated and endless, the future could see many new fronts open up in this war of survival.

Comments are closed.