Russia uses Soviet-made cruise missiles equipped with non-explosive warheads to divert the attention of the Ukrainian air defence system, Col Mykola Danylyuk, representative of the Central Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has said at a briefing
"The deliberate launch of these missiles is a demo to distract the attention of the Ukrainian air defence system, exhausting it while modern Russian missiles Kh-101 and 3M-14 of the Kalibr system are aimed at critical infrastructure facilities, residential areas, which can significantly increase the effectiveness of their use," Danylyuk said.
According to him, the launch of these missiles is aimed at "exposing" and exhausting the air defence system of Ukraine.
Danylyuk stressed that even an "unarmed" missile poses a significant threat of causing indiscriminate damage due to the missile's own kinetic energy and fuel residues.