Rumors Ukraine appears to be using a large Soviet-era missile system to strike inside Russia

Necessity is the mother of invention

IF this is true, makes me wonder how many they can convert. Supposedly they had 4 batteries 24 launchers but reports indicate that Ukraine may have purchased an unknown number of S-200V launchers from Russia in 2010. according to CSIC.org

Supposedly 400 km range makes me wonder what and where may be on the target list. So far Kyiv hasn't claimed responsibility, but then if that's true WITH is lobbing missiles @ Russian targets? Certainly, the west knows where they originated Id like to believe Russia knows also.

Could this force Russia's hand to negotiate? or escalate?

Ukraine is re-engineering a 36-foot-long Soviet-era missile system to strike inside Russia, UK intel says. Below is a video purported to show its usage



twitter.com...

www.businessinsider.com...

Ukraine is repurposing the Soviet-era S-200 surface-to-air missile system to strike inside Russia.
The weapon, which weighs 7.5 tons and is 36 feet long, is used for ground attacks, the UK MoD says.
Russia's Aerospace Forces are likely facing pressure to improve its air defenses amid rising threats.

Ukraine appears to be using a large Soviet-era missile system to strike inside Russia, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

Along with drones regularly hitting Moscow, there have been increasing reports of A-5 GAMMON missiles striking Russia, the department noted in an intelligence update on Sunday.

The weapon also called the S-200 surface-to-air missile system, weighs 7.5 tons and is 36 feet long.

Ukraine has retired the weapon from its air defense role and is now instead using it as a ground attack ballistic missile, the department said.

Forbes reported in July that Kyiv might be repurposing the obsolete weapons for ground attacks to replace its diminishing stockpile of Tochka ballistic missiles.

A video showed what appears to be a V-860 or V-880 missile, the munition used in the S-200 system, hitting the ground in Bryansk Oblast in Russia, just north of the border with Ukraine.

It is unclear how many such attacks have occurred, but Russian news agency Tass reported on Saturday that Kyiv tried to strike Crimea with a re-equipped S-200.

Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on Russian territory, but several officials have implied support.

missilethreat.csis.org...

The Soviet Union exported the S-200 to numerous countries during the 1980s. Several former bloc states, such as Ukraine, inherited active and inactive S-200 sites following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Others received the system through direct sales from the USSR/Russia, or from third party transfers. Today, the system remains in service in no less than 12 countries.
Ukraine
There are four active S-200 batteries (approximately 24 launchers) and another twelve inactive sites in Ukraine. Some of these sites are likely legacy systems that came under Ukrainian control following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but reports indicate that Ukraine may have purchased an unknown number of S-200V launchers from Russia in 2010.17

a reply to: putnam6

"Oh No! He's there! The killer is in the house with You!"



Since that two day "drama-dy" featuring Prigozhin rolling up to Moscow, until he wasn't, I've had a strong sense that maybe things aren't all too rosey in russkie-land.

Maybe there is a significant (and growing?) faction pushing for changes that see Putin and company hanging by their heels from lamp posts in Red Square?

That system wasn't designed to target ground targets. Curious if it can be made to do much damage.

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
That system wasn't designed to target ground targets. Curious if it can be made to do much damage.

It's a Soviet era brute force missile with a huge warhead at 2-3x the size of a Patriot missile, or about the eqvivalent to 30 or so 155mm shells.

TL;DR it can do alot of damage.

a reply to: putnam6

they have been known to come up with some creative adaptations to weaponry since the war started, I wouldn't put it past the US to be able to do this, I mean Ukraine silly me...

So now not only can they fire ground to ground ballistics missiles but some versions are nuclear capable...

I also noticed in one of the links

In 1986, Poland purchased two S-200 Angara systems and 24 5V21 missiles from the Soviet Union

originally posted by: merka

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
That system wasn't designed to target ground targets. Curious if it can be made to do much damage.

It's a Soviet era brute force missile with a huge warhead at 2-3x the size of a Patriot missile, or about the eqvivalent to 30 or so 155mm shells.

TL;DR it can do alot of damage.

Yep

If the video at the Twitter link is real, it can ruin a few Russians' day.

Now if they have 24 launchers one would assume they have at least 24 missiles...

Also saw rumors they tried to use one on the Kerch Bridge a month ago but it was shot down. Again nothing but rumors no verification

originally posted by: datguy
a reply to: putnam6

they have been known to come up with some creative adaptations to weaponry since the war started, I wouldn't put it past the US to be able to do this, I mean Ukraine silly me...

So now not only can they fire ground to ground ballistics missiles but some versions are nuclear capable...

I also noticed in one of the links

In 1986, Poland purchased two S-200 Angara systems and 24 5V21 missiles from the Soviet Union

LOL wouldn't be the first time a country has sold weapons that got used against them later on.

a reply to: datguy

You have to HAVE nuclear weapons first, so the fact that it’s nuclear capable is largely irrelevant.

a reply to: NoCorruptionAllowed

Many SAM systems can be used surface to surface. Depending on the system their accuracy may suck, but it’s a simple matter to repurpose them. Many more modern systems come with a secondary ground attack capability.

a reply to: Zaphod58

yes because everyone conveniently abided by their commitments to the Budapest Memorandum and nuclear weapons / enriched uranium are so hard to come by these days...

a reply to: datguy

Building the weapon isn’t as easy as getting your hands on enriched uranium. And even if someone slipped them a weapon, getting it to work with an old Soviet system is a non trivial exercise.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: NoCorruptionAllowed

Many SAM systems can be used surface to surface. Depending on the system their accuracy may suck, but it’s a simple matter to repurpose them. Many more modern systems come with a secondary ground attack capability.

That's something I suspected but hadn't heard of before, but then I never looked into it.

Thanks for the info.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: datguy

Building the weapon isn’t as easy as getting your hands on enriched uranium. And even if someone slipped them a weapon, getting it to work with an old Soviet system is a non trivial exercise.

But if a comparable weapon from 'some other country' were 'gifted' to Ukraine most of the world is gullible enough to believe Ukraine repurposed a Russian weapon in MSM tells them so.

a reply to: nugget1

And again, it’s not a matter of simply taking a modern era, Western nuclear weapon, slapping it on a Soviet era weapons system and firing it and it works perfectly. The Ukrainian forces have had to jump through all kinds of hoops up get Western weapons to work on their Soviet era equipment. It would be a lot harder to do in this case.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: nugget1

And again, it’s not a matter of simply taking a modern era, Western nuclear weapon, slapping it on a Soviet era weapons system and firing it and it works perfectly. The Ukrainian forces have had to jump through all kinds of hoops up get Western weapons to work on their Soviet era equipment. It would be a lot harder to do in this case.

Who says it has to be a Soviet ear weapon? It's not like we haven't been lied to before to justify going to war with another country, or instigating proxy wars.

The thing is, the more anything goes over to Russia, in return it gets quadrupled back on the other side. On multiple sites.

a reply to: nugget1

Ok, they’re going to hand them a Western weapon system, a Western nuclear weapon, and all the access codes. Because they don’t have signatures that can be detected afterwards that will destroy years long relations, all so we can force a war with Russia. Makes total sense.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: nugget1

Ok, they’re going to hand them a Western weapon system, a Western nuclear weapon, and all the access codes. Because they don’t have signatures that can be detected afterwards that will destroy years long relations, all so we can force a war with Russia. Makes total sense.

You have to prove the US is behind it first. I guess not everyone distrusts the government in light of our past history when it comes to starting wars with lies and attacks blamed on the enemy.

a reply to: nugget1

The weapons signature will prove it was the US, and the US doesn't just hand nuclear weapons out like they're candy. So yeah, that's going to be so hard to prove. And it can be proven by anyone with the tools to do it.