As of now, the russian army has deployed along the state border of Ukraine 46 launchers of the Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missile system, which are used to strike our Ukraine with both ballistic missiles and R-500 cruise missiles, aka "Iskander-K".
That is according to a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Defense Ministry of Ukraine, Vadym Skibitskyi who said this at the annual meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES).
Read more: Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Says They Continue Special Operation in Crimea
At the same time, Skibitsky emphasized that "in this way (that is, using the Iskander complexes - ed.), there is a methodical destruction, first of all, of civilian objects of our state."
In turn, Defense Express would like to emphasize that this is the first time during the full-scale war of the russian federation against Ukraine that the number of the Iskander missile system launchers concentrated against our country has become known. And here the stated figure should be analyzed separately.
On the one hand, The Military Balance 2023 indicates that at the beginning of the current year, the russian army had a total of 150 launchers for the Iskander system. And it was actually an incomplete set for all 14 existing missile brigades, each of which was supposed to have 16 Iskander launchers, that is, 208 launchers in a complete set for 13 brigades and 226 launchers in a complete set for 14 brigades.
In turn, 46 launchers are generally an incomplete equivalent of only three missile brigades. But here and further it should be taken into account that, for example, according to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, by the end of August 2023, the russian federation had as many as 270 cruise and ballistic missiles in stock for the Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missile system, and planned to produce 30 ballistic and 12 cruise missiles in the same August for the Iskander systems.
For comparison, at the beginning of January 2023, the russians had only 144 ballistic and cruise missiles for the Iskander systems. Which, in turn, allows us to make assumptions that probably this winter, the occupiers will more actively use the Iskander systems to attack Ukraine’s energy and other civil infrastructure.
Read more: Ukrainian Artileryman Eliminate Four russia’s Self-Propelled Howitzers Simultaneously by American M142 HIMARS (Video)
