The tension between Ukraine and Russia, which have been engaged for weeks to "flex their muscles" in the Donbass, does not seem to be defused. The government of Kiev, with the support of NATO but above all of the United States, has declared its intention to regain the territories lost following the 2014 war, while Moscow would like to prevent the Alliance from settling permanently along its western borders.
In this regard, the Kremlin has begun the deployment of launch systems for hypersonic missiles Iskander-K, in the region near Voronezh, about 250 km from the border with the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv and Luhansk.
- Iskander-K they are equipped with the cruise variant of the R-500 missile (maximum speed equal to mach 6), with a maximum range of 500 km but, theoretically, it can be increased to 700 km, therefore able to hit the command and control centers in depth, air defense systems as well as the bases where troops are concentrated on Ukrainian territory.
Russian official sources say that the R-500 missile is capable of carrying a conventional 500 kg warhead or a nuclear warhead of about 50 kt. There are likely several conventional warheads, including cluster, fuel-air explosive e bunker busting. The missile is capable of overcoming Ukraine's air defense systems, offering a high probability of survival in environments with electronic countermeasures. With a CEP (Circular Error Probability) ranging from 5 to 7m, it is able to direct itself to the target even in adverse weather conditions, such as in the presence of dense fog banks and snowstorms.
In any case, this concentration of missile systems on the border with Ukraine worries Western officials. “Russia's massive military build-up is unjustified, inexplicable and deeply troubling. Russia must put an end to this military reinforcement in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and immediately stop any escalation ", said Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, immediately after meeting with Dmytro Kuleba, the chief of diplomacy in Kiev.
However, the Ukrainians are moving forward with the provocations. Indeed, Ukrainian forces have begun to deploy Turkish TB2 UCAVs Bayraktar (photo), who have earned (although it is still to be ascertained), during the intervention in Libya against the forces of General Haftar, the reputation of "Pantsir killer" (from the name of the Russian anti-aircraft hybrid system) . Moscow saw in this act the justification for the deployment of substantial forces on the Ukrainian border.
Images: Минобороны России / web
