Russia Fires Unarmed Missiles to Weaken Ukraine's Air Defense

A senior United States military official explained Russia fired a cruise missile not carrying weapons planned to carry downstream nuclear detonation onto targets in Ukraine. Russia did that to weaken Kyiv's air defenses.

American officials, who declined to be named, were asked about a Nov. 26, 2022, assessment by British military intelligence that explained that Russia had a chance of removing nuclear detotypes from cruise missiles and firing ammunition not carrying weapons into Ukraine.

The intelligence report's refinement drew open-source imagery showing some of the wreckage of a cruise missile fired at Ukraine that appeared to have been planned in the 1980s as a nuclear carrier mechanism.

Britain's Defence Ministry said a ballast was likely being replaced downstream, a mechanism that would produce damage through missile kinetic energy and unused fuel.

Asked about the confession, top American military officials explained to reporters at the Pentagon: "That's certainly something they're trying to do to reduce the impact of the air defense mechanisms that Ukraine uses."

This was the first comment from american officials about the British assessment.

The Pentagon explained that russia's missile strike in Ukraine is planned to deplete Kyiv's air defense supplies and eventually achieve sky supremacy over the country.

Therefore, America and its allies focused on procuring air defense supplies for Ukraine, ranging from the relics of the Soviet Union to the more contemporary Western mechanisms.

A senior American defense official, speaking without naming names in Tuesday's hearing, claimed the Patriot's missile defense mechanism was one of many forces calculated to help Kyiv make protection from Russian missiles.

The United States has provided a variety of air defense forces to Ukraine, including NASAMS air defense mechanisms and more than 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft and counter-artillery and airborne monitoring radar mechanisms.