A British military intelligence report says Russian bombers likely launched heavy anti-ship missiles dating back to the 1960s intended to destroy aircraft carriers with nuclear warheads at land targets in Ukraine.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian bombers likely launched heavy anti-ship missiles dating back to the 1960s intended to destroy nuclear-warheaded aircraft carriers against land targets in Ukraine, a British military intelligence report said on Saturday.
He said the 5.5-ton Kh-22 missiles, when used in ground attacks with conventional warheads, are highly inaccurate and can cause severe collateral damage and casualties.
Russia probably uses such weapons because it lacks more accurate modern missiles, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in a daily update.
Russian forces focused their efforts on capturing the entire eastern region of Ukraine from coal mines and factories known as Donbass. The area borders Russia and has been partly controlled by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014.
Civilians have fled intense fighting in eastern Ukraine as Russian and Ukrainian forces engage in a bitter battle of attrition for key cities in the country’s industrial heartland.
The report says Ukraine’s air defenses are still deterring Russian tactical aircraft from carrying out strikes across much of the country.
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Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed.
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A Ukrainian soldier holds radios during heavy fighting on the front line in Severodonetsk, Lugansk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak)
An injured Ukrainian serviceman is transferred to a medical facility after receiving emergency medical treatment in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Rapper Viacheslav Drofa, known as Otoy, center, trains with other militiamen at a firing range on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Battlefronts of the ukraine comes rap music – filled with the anger and outrage of a young generation who, once the fighting is over, will surely never forget and perhaps never forgive. Ukrainian rapper turned volunteer soldier Otoy puts the war into words and hits the baselines, typing lyrics under Russian bombardment on his phone, with the lights turned down to avoid becoming a target. It helps numb the nervous stress of combat. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
A Ukrainian tank rolls through the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
A Ukrainian soldier in position during heavy fighting on the frontline in Severodonetsk, Lugansk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak)
A Ukrainian soldier stands in position during heavy fighting on the front line in Severodonetsk, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak)
Unexploded shells and other weapons are displayed by a Ukrainian specialist team searching for them in a field on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
A dashboard counts the number of injured people assisted and transported by a military paramedic in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
People board an evacuation train at the train station in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, Friday, June 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
An elderly woman who was evacuated from the Lysychansk region cries moments before departing by train to western Ukraine from Pokrovsk station, Friday, June 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
An elderly woman who was evacuated from the Lysychansk region looks out the window of an evacuation train in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, Friday, June 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
An elderly woman who was evacuated from the Lysychansk region sits on an evacuation train in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, Friday, June 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
