Russia Turns Training Missiles on Ukraine

Russia has sharply increased its use of modified RM48U training missiles against Ukraine. More than half of the 228 ballistic and hypersonic missiles fired in July and the first eight days of August were RM48Us, according to data from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office.

The RM48Us were originally designed as training targets for air defense systems but have been repurposed as offensive weapons. They are less accurate and carry a smaller warhead than Iskander missiles, but allow Moscow to conserve its more capable weapons.

Ukrainian investigators linked an RM48U to an August strike on a railway platform in the Brovary district near Kyiv that killed eight people. The missiles can miss their intended targets by hundreds of meters. Reuters has not independently verified the investigators’ findings.

In July, Russia fired 158 ballistic and hypersonic missiles, including 87 RM48Us. The number of Iskanders, meanwhile, fell from more than 100 in June to 38 in July.

Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said Russia may be using the cheaper missiles against lower-value targets while forcing Ukraine to expend scarce interceptors.

Ukraine has limited supplies of systems capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.

(Reuters, mja)