Ukraine war: Kyiv displays Russian nuclear-capable missile

Russia is present utilizing nuclear-capable missiles with non-explosive warheads to exhaust Ukraine's aerial defences, the Ukrainian subject has said.

It displayed what it said were fragments of Soviet-made X-55 cruise missiles - designed for atomic usage - recovered successful Ukraine's 2 occidental regions.

The rockets are being launched to "exhaust the air-defence strategy of our country," a Ukrainian authoritative said.

He said tests connected the fragments did not amusement abnormal levels of radioactivity.

Ukrainian subject experts accidental Russia whitethorn person importantly depleted its immense rocket arsenal aft carrying retired question aft question of monolithic strikes connected Ukraine's captious infrastructure successful caller weeks, and Moscow is present resorting to utilizing blunt projectiles that inactive origin devastation.

Russia - which launched a full-scale penetration of Ukraine connected 24 February - has made nary nationalist comments connected the issue.

At a briefing connected Thursday successful Ukraine's superior Kyiv, subject authoritative Mykola Danyliuk showed reporters what helium described arsenic fragments of X-55 cruise missiles (known arsenic AS-15 by Nato) recovered successful the Lviv and Khmelnytsky regions.

He said the projectiles were designed successful Soviet times to deed "strategic targets with predetermined co-ordinates".

The UK said the missiles were designed "exclusively arsenic a atomic transportation system".

However, it is believed the Russian subject removed the atomic warheads from the missiles fired astatine Ukraine and replaced them with an inert system.

Mr Danyliuk stressed that adjacent a rocket equipped with a non-explosive warhead "posed a important danger" due to the fact that of its kinetic vigor and substance residues.

"This is evidenced by the latest onslaught erstwhile a X-55 rocket deed a residential building."

Testing indicated "no interaction [of the missile] with atomic elements", helium added.

On Thursday, an aerial alert was concisely successful spot crossed each of Ukraine - with the objection of the Russian-annexed confederate Crimea peninsula - arsenic determination were reports that Russian warfare planes whitethorn beryllium preparing to transportation retired a caller question of rocket strikes. The alert was aboriginal discontinued.

In different developments connected Thursday: