Following another massive russian attack on Ukraine on the night of July 12, 2025, a video circulated on social media showing what appears to be a Kh-101 cruise missile with cluster warhead striking infrastructure in the city of Chernivtsi.
There has been no official confirmation of this episode. However, an article published by The War Zone on russian Kh-101 cruise missiles, particularly those equipped with cluster munitions, proves quite interesting and revealing.
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At first glance, this article does not contain any fundamentally new details about the Kh-101 missile. All the information provided has already been circulating publicly.
On the other hand, the generalization of available data is an important fact. It shows that the authors of Western specialized resources have a specific idea of what weapons russians are using to strike Ukraine.
The first reports of the use of the Kh-101 missiles with a cluster warhead to strike Ukraine date back to the summer of 2024. The authors of The War Zone note the lack of data regarding the presence of cluster munitions on other types of russian long-range cruise missiles, such as the Kalibr.
It is also indicated that two variants of the Kh-101 cruise missile can carry cluster warheads. In the first case, a single warhead weighing 400 kilograms is used.
In the second case, missiles with a dual warhead are used, where one of the components has a cluster munition. In this case, the warhead weight increases to 800 kilograms, but this could significantly reduce the missile's flight range.
In addition, the fact of integrating a cluster warhead into the Kh-101 is a continuation of russian efforts to modify the design of these cruise missiles. In particular, in early 2023, it became known about the appearance of an improved variant of the Kh-101 with decoy flares to mislead anti-aircraft means.
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