Russian missiles fail again: Unexploded ordnance found in Lviv oblast
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reports the identification of Kh-47M2 Kinzhal and Kh-101 missiles in Lviv Oblast. The unexploded missiles were handled by sappers who neutralised the threat. This is yet another instance where a Russian attack did not go according to plan.
The Russian army has repeatedly encountered problems when shelling Ukraine. Their missiles have crashed in many locations recently. At the beginning of August, the Ukrainian emergency service reported finding remains of a Russian Kh-101 missile in one of Kyiv's ponds.
The unexploded missile from Kyiv was like a ticking bomb, and it wasn't the only such case. Another time, a warhead of the more dangerous hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile was identified in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. It also posed a threat to nearby residents – the unexploded ordnance could have detonated at any moment.
Two unexploded ordnances in Lviv Oblast
According to the Ukrainian agency Unian, two unexploded ordnances – a Kh-101 missile and a Kh-47M2 Kinzhal – have been found in Lviv Oblast (the services do not specify the exact location).
"In Lviv Oblast, sappers from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine have taken over the warheads of the Kinzhal and Kh-101 missiles," reads a service communication on Telegram. The missiles fell near Lviv during a massive shelling conducted by the Russian army and did not explode. Sappers neutralised the threat, preventing “further destruction and possible casualties among the civilian population".
Out of the two missiles found near Lviv, the Kinzhal poses a more significant threat due to its parameters. According to unofficial information, it weighs over five tonnes and has a range of up to 1,240 miles. This powerful weapon is carried by specific fighter jets—the MiG-31K—although the Russians have also adapted Tu-22M3 bombers for this purpose.
The most significant advantage of the Kinzhal is its speed. It is said to reach Mach 10, although no evidence confirms this specification. It is not excluded that the maximum speed of the Kh-47M2 is around Mach 8 (approximately 6,100 mph). Additionally, the mentioned missile is very mobile, characterised by high manoeuvrability. Due to this, the Kinzhal is challenging to shoot down – it can avoid threats at every stage of its flight by performing appropriate manoeuvres.
Meanwhile, the Kh-101 missile, also identified near Lviv, is ammunition continuously developed by the Russian defence industry. In its latest version, the Kh-101 is equipped with two warheads, one of which is a cluster warhead. The missile reaches a speed of about 600 mph and a distance of about 3,100 miles from the launch site. The precision of the strike is ensured by the Otblesk-U guidance module, which compares the image recorded during the flight with the one stored in the ammunition's memory before launch. This allows the strike's accuracy to reach a maximum deviation of only a few metres.
