Claims Swirl Around Use Of New Russian Missiles To Strike Ukraine

Russia’s heavy missile barrage directed against Ukraine on the night of January 20 appears to have involved the use of several new or unusual weapons. Various sources, unofficial and official, point to the possible use of a new version of the Iskander short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), as well as the rarely employed Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. Wreckage recovered in Ukraine also confirms, for the first time, Russia’s use of repurposed missile targets for air defenses in a land-attack role.

According to a report from the Ukrainian Air Force Command, a total of 34 missiles of various types were used in the raid, along with 339 drones, approximately 250 of which were Shahed/Geran-series types. Ukraine claims that 14 of 18 ballistic missiles launched from Iskander and S-300 / S-400 sys