Russian army strike Ukraine with new and upgraded Kh-101 missile overnight

Archive photo: the Russian army struck Ukraine with a new and modernized missile at night (Getty Images)

Russian forces used the upgraded Kh-101 missile for the strike on Ukraine tonight. It was taken literally off the assembly line, according to Defense Express.

The agency received photos of the destroyed missile from its sources and concluded that the Kh-101 was manufactured in the second quarter of 2024, meaning that the Russians took this Kh-101 literally off the assembly line to strike Ukraine.

“But the main feature of this Kh-101 is that it had a double warhead - in addition to the standard 450-kilogram warhead, there was also an additional 350-kilogram warhead, for a total of 800 kilograms,” the material says.

Photo: Missile debris (defence-ua.com)

The journalists point out that the first time the Russian army used this modernized missile to shell Ukraine was in late March. Now they conclude that the Russian military-industrial complex is currently developing the production of Kh-101 missiles with a double warhead.

How Russia managed to increase the missile's warhead

The agency reports that Russia managed to equip the Kh-101 with a dual warhead weighing 800 kilograms by reducing the size of the fuel tank and reducing the flight range from approximately 5,500 kilometers to 2,250 kilometers.

"This allowed the enemy to increase the destructive power of the Kh-101 missile by using a dual warhead while maintaining a sufficient range to strike at the territory of Ukraine," the journalists pointed out.

What preceded it

On the night of May 8, the Russians launched a combined attack with missiles of various types and attack drones. In total, the Russian Federation launched 76 air strikes - 55 missiles and 21 attack drones. Ukrainian soldiers managed to destroy 59 air targets.

Later, British intelligence reported that Russia had modernized its Kh-101 cruise missiles.