Russia Is Predicted To Deploy More Powerful And Deadly Weapons If War Prolongs |
International Military - Ukrainian and British officials warned Saturday that Russian forces are relying on weapons that can cause mass casualties as they try to make progress in capturing eastern Ukraine and the intense fighting is protracted.
"Russian bombers may have launched a heavy 1960s-era anti-ship missile at Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense said, as quoted by the AP. The Kh-22 missile is primarily designed to destroy aircraft carriers using nuclear warheads.
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"When used in a ground attack with conventional warheads, they are highly inaccurate and can therefore cause severe damage and loss of life," the ministry statement continued.
Both sides have unleashed vast amounts of weaponry in what has become a war of attrition for the eastern region of coal mines and factories known as the Donbas.
Battles in this region placed a huge strain on their resources and supplies. "Russia is likely to use 5.5-tonne (6.1-ton) anti-ship missiles due to a shortage of modern, more precise missiles, the UK Ministry of Defence said.
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The ministry did not provide details on where exactly the missile was thought to have been deployed. In Ukraine's eastern province of Luhansk, the local governor accused Russia of using incendiary weapons in a village located southwest of the fiercely contested towns of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.
While the use of flamethrowers on battlefields is legal, Provincial Governor Serhii Haidai accused the overnight attack in Vrubivka of causing extensive damage to civilian facilities and an unknown number of casualties.
"At night, the enemy uses a flamethrower rocket system, many houses are on fire," Haidai wrote on Telegram on Saturday. His claim could not be immediately verified.
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Sievierodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk are the last major areas of Luhansk left under Ukrainian control. Haidai said Russian troops destroyed a railway depot, a brick factory and a glass factory.
The Ukrainian army also reported on Saturday that Russian troops would launch an attack on the town of Sloviansk in Donetsk province, which together with Luhansk make up Donbas. Moscow-backed rebels have controlled the self-proclaimed republic in both provinces since 2014, and Russia is trying to seize territory still in Ukrainian hands.
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