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UK Defense Ministry: Russia likely removes nuclear warheads from 'aging' cruise missiles, attacks Ukraine with 'unarmed munitions'

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The U.K. Defense Ministry said on Nov. 26 that the warhead of an allegedly shot down AS-15 Kent (Kh-55) air-launched cruise missile, designed in the 1980s as a nuclear delivery system, had "probably been substituted for ballast."

According to the ministry, "such an inert system will still produce some damage," but it is unlikely to achieve reliable effects against the targets.

"Russia almost certainly hopes such missiles will function as decoys and divert Ukrainian air defenses," the ministry said. "Whatever Russia's intent, this improvisation highlights the level of depletion in Russia's stock of long-range missiles."

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The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

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The Kyiv Independent staff documented what it feels like to live and sleep in Kyiv, Ukraine, as Russia intensifies its drone and missile attacks on the city. Filmed over several weeks in June and July, our journalists take shelter in bathrooms, basements, and parking garages as explosions ring out overhead.

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