Russia’s Cruise Missiles Keep Getting Shot Down and Crashing – Video footage shared on social media this week shows the remains of a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that crashed in Kamlykia, close to the Caspian Sea, and was eventually destroyed in a controlled detonation.
The images and video were shared on Telegram, and an accompanying post describes how the cruise missile fell from the sky in the village of Ulan Khol.
The wreckage was photographed by local people who then shared the images online.
“A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crashed in Kalmykia near the Caspian Sea and was destroyed by a controlled detonation by Russian sappers,” war analyst Rob Lee writes on Twitter.
According to the original Telegram post, the cruise missile may have been fired as part of a training exercise given that there were no recorded missile strikes in Ukrainian territory.
“On that day, there were no missile launches of strategic aviation on the territory of Ukraine, therefore, it is possible that the launches were training, but the missile went out of the way,” the post reads. “The sappers who arrived at the scene destroyed the remains of the rocket by detonation.”
The images show the remains of the rocket laying on the ground, and the video – recorded from a distance – shows the missile detonating on the ground and creating a plume of grey smoke that reaches hundreds of feet into the air within seconds.
You can see the video here.
Ukraine Shoots Down Kh-101 and Exposes Inner Workings Of Missile
Another Russian Kh-101 missile was shot down by Ukrainian air defense forces in the central Vinnytsia region just last week.
According to a Facebook post shared by the Ukrainian Air Force, troops shot down the missile on January 26 and the remains that fell to the ground remained relatively intact.
“Photo of another Russian X-101 winged missile shot down by the Air Force’s anti-aircraft defense on January 26, 2023 in Vinnytsia,” the post reads.
Photographs of the downed cruise missile show much of the weapon intact, with both wings fully intact and still attached to the hull.
The only essential part of the missile that appears to be missing in the photographs is the engine, which is mounted below the missile.
Kh-101, Explained
The Kh-101 is one of Russia’s most advanced cruise missiles, and losing them to Ukrainian air defense systems and unintentional crashes is a real problem for the Kremlin.
The missile can only be manufactured using microchips – a crucial piece of technology that’s already in short supply globally, but particularly for Russia as a result of Western sanctions.
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Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
