Pentagon explains why Russia fires missiles with dummy nuclear warheads over Ukraine
Russia increased missile attacks to deplete Ukraine’s stocks of air defense missiles and ammo (Photo:kv.npu.gov.ua)
Russia is firing cruise missiles with dummy nuclear warheads at targets in Ukraine in order to overwhelm and exhaust the Ukrainian air defense system, a senior Pentagon official said on Nov. 29 during a press briefing.
The official said Russia had increased missile attacks on Ukraine partly with the aim of depleting stocks of Ukrainian air defense missiles and ammunition, and finally achieving dominance in the sky.
Therefore, the United States and Ukraine’s other allies have focused on supplying air defenses for Ukraine, the official said.
Earlier, U.S. news outlet Defense Express reported that Russia is launching cruise missiles with dummy nuclear warheads at Ukraine. The publication stated that this indicates that the inventory of cruise missiles of the occupiers is running low, and is approaching a critical indicator for the Kremlin.
UK intelligence has said that Russia almost certainly hopes that such missiles will act as decoys and distract Ukrainian air defense forces, using up their ammunition and allowing other cruise missiles through to find their targets.
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