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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."