Russia changes tactics: What’s behind the sudden surge in Iskander activity
Aviation analyst Kostyantyn Kryvolap explains why Russia has shifted its focus from Kinzhal to Iskander missiles and what drives the sharp escalation of missile attacks.
Iskander missile.
Russia is attempting to concentrate its efforts on ballistic strikes against Ukraine, but its capabilities are gradually diminishing.
This was said by aviation expert and analyst Kostyantyn Kryvolap during a broadcast on the KYIV24 TV channel.
According to the expert, at the beginning of the year, 54 Iskander missile launchers were deployed near Ukraine’s borders, but Ukrainian Armed Forces have already disabled several of them.
«We’ve already destroyed or damaged three to four launchers, after which Russia brought in others. This indicates that the enemy is betting heavily on ballistic strikes, ” Kryvolap noted.
The expert emphasizes that recently, Russians have rarely used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles — up to six per attack at most. This is due to a reduction in the number of operational MiG-31K aircraft capable of launching these missiles.
«There used to be 10–12 such aircraft; now there are only three. Sometimes one MiG makes two sorties in a night to launch an additional missile. But we haven’t seen more than six Kinzhals in a long time, ” he reported.
Kryvolap stresses that Ukraine’s air defense is also limiting Russia’s ability to launch Kh-101 and Kh-195 cruise missiles. According to him, the enemy is being «cornered» and forced to resort to «frantic attacks» to demonstrate at least some capacity to inflict damage.
«The fact that they’ve brought in another 10 Iskanders shows an attempt to prove they’re still capable of something. Well, for now, they are, ” the expert concluded.