Russia attacking Ukraine using missiles Ukraine gave it back in 90s, says intelligence
The missiles were transferred to Russia under the Budapest Memorandum (Photo:Police of the Kyiv Oblast)
Russia is attacking Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure with the very Kh-55 missiles that Ukraine transferred to it in the 1990s in exchange for security assurances, Vadym Skibitskyy, Ukraine’s deputy intelligence chief, said in an interview with the New York Times on Dec. 12.
Skibitskyy said the missiles were manufactured in the 1970s and were able to carry a nuclear warhead.
Currently, Russia has removed the nuclear warhead from them and is using them as decoys in attempts to overwhelm the Ukrainian air defense system.
“As soon as a Kh-55 missile is launched, we react to it,” General Skibitskyy said.
“After the Ukrainian air defenses are engaged, (Skibitskyy) said, Russian bombers launch more modern missiles, with destructive warheads,” the NYT said.
Ukrainian intelligence has found out that at least three of the missiles used to attack Ukraine were in fact manufactured in Ukraine.
In addition, Skibitskyy said there is a possibility that the planes from which these missiles were launched also used to belong to Ukraine. They were also transferred to the Russian Federation in the 1990s.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russian weapons factories have been able to produce 240 high-precision Kh-101 cruise missiles and about 120 Kalibr naval cruise missiles, the general said.
The Russian Federation can produce about 40 new missiles per month, Skibitskyy added.
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