Russia ‘running out of ballistic missiles’ and no longer targeting Ukrainian bases
Russia has exhausted its “core stocks” of Iskander ballistic missiles and is no longer attacking Ukrainian military bases, Ukraine’s air force has said.
Shortages of the devastating weapons mean Russia has had to change tactics and is now exclusively targeting critical infrastructure.
“The enemy is facing severe shortages of the Iskander missiles. They’ve already used up their core stocks of them,” said air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat.
“We see that the enemy is no longer interested in military targets, in troops or other strategic sites,” he said.
To replenish its ballistic missiles stocks, Russia is turning to Iran and North Korea, he added.
More than seven metres long and capable of carrying nuclear warheads as well as a conventional explosive payload, the Iskander missiles were introduced in 2006 and reportedly cost about £2.5 million each.
A single Iskander destroyed a railway station in the eastern town of Chaplyne in August, killing 25 people including two children.
An Iskander missile is believed to have been used in an attack on a Ukrainian base in Mykolaiv in March.
More than 40 Ukrainian marines were killed when the missile destroyed their barracks.
