Russia strikes Kostiantynivka with Kh-38 missile: What is known about weapon
Illustrative photo: Russia struck Kostiantynivka with a Kh-38 missile (Getty Images)
On Friday, August 9, the Russian army struck a mall in Kostiantynivka with a Kh-38 missile. The missile features an advanced guidance system.
For detailed information about this missile, read the RBC-Ukraine material.
According to preliminary information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Russia used a Kh-38 missile in the strike. This missile was adopted by the Russian military in 2012 but is still not fully studied due to its limited deployment.
The Kh-38 is characterized by its requirement for target illumination by a laser. However, there are variations of the missile with satellite navigation, thermal imaging, and active radar homing heads.
The missile is typically launched from Su-35 and Su-57 aircraft and is reportedly integrated with Ka-52 helicopters.
The Kh-38 has an overall weight of 520 kg and is usually equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. There are also reports of a cassette warhead variant weighing 250 kg. Notably, the missile has a launch range of up to 40 km and a speed of up to Mach 2.2.
It is worth noting that Kostiantynivka is currently about 12-15 km from the front line.
What is known about the strike on Kostiantynivka
On Friday, August 9, the Russian army shelled the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region. The Russian army hit a shopping center. As of 5 PM, the known casualties are 12 killed and 44 injured as a result of the attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reacted to the Russian crime, showing a video of the aftermath of the shelling.
For detailed information on the consequences of the attack, read the RBC-Ukraine material.
Sources: the Ministry of Internal Affairs press service, Wikipedia, and Defence Express.
