Ukraine

Ukraine: Is Russia Running out of Missiles?

The use of strategic X-101 standoff missiles could be a sign of shortages or is it just a sign that Ukraine’s air defences are too effective?

Tupolev TU-160 Blackjack. Image credit: Aktug Ates (GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html> or GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>), via Wikimedia Commons

On Sunday 26 June 2022, Russian strategic TU-95MS and TU-160 bombers fired X-101 missiles at Kyiv.

Apparently hitting Kyiv was meant as a warning to the G7 leaders who were meeting at Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps.

I’m not surprised that Putin wanted to make a point, just when Russia has defaulted on foreign debt payments for the first time since 1918. It was a paltry sum of $100m which Russia can pay, but does not have access to suitable payment systems to complete the transaction. The BBC reported that the Kremlin had been determined to avoid the default, which is a major blow to the nation’s prestige.

The missile attack on 26 June 2022

This is a link to the Ukraine Telegram Channel which shows the New York Time map of the attack. Copyright prevents me from displaying the map here.