During the shelling of Kyiv on 8 December, the Russian Federation used decoy missiles to confuse and exhaust Ukraine's air defences. However, the aggressor did not achieve its goal.
The Russian Federation is trying to deplete Ukraine's air defence
In a recent report, the Institute noted that on 9 December, a Russian military blogger reported that Russian troops are using Kh-55 cruise missiles, which are very similar to the upgraded version of the Kh-101 missile.
The purpose of replacing the missiles was to confuse and exhaust Ukrainian air defences.
It was because of the use of decoy missiles that Russian missiles failed to successfully hit any targets in Kyiv and were shot down by air defences. The blogger complained that due to the limited number of Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers, it was "virtually impossible" for Russian forces to launch enough Kh-55 decoy missiles to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences, the report said.
The Institute for the Study of War also reports that the Russians have previously used Kh-55 missiles, along with other missile variants and drones, as decoys or "decoys" to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences and provoke a shortage of precision guided missiles.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets reported that Russian troops are conducting intensified aerial reconnaissance ahead of large-scale long-range strikes on targets in eastern and southern Ukraine.
The expert noted that before the missile strikes on 8 December, the Russians conducted seven reconnaissance flights, which is significantly more than one or two flights in previous days. In his opinion, the aggressor's military is likely trying to counter Ukraine's limited air defence system ahead of an expected large-scale winter missile campaign.
Missile attack on Ukraine on 8 December
On the morning of 8 December, for the first time since 21 September, Russia used missiles fired from Tu-95MS strategic bombers against Ukraine.
The aircraft fired 19 Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles from the Engels area of Saratov region, 14 of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defence forces.
All missiles flying towards Kyiv were shot down on approach to the capital. At the same time, in Pavlohrad district of Dnipropetrovs'k region, one person was killed and one was injured as a result of shelling.
The West believes that the massive Russian shelling on 8 December is the beginning of the Russian Federation's winter attack campaign.
