Russia has a new Benderol missile. Ukrainian military intelligence has released data
Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) has revealed the design data of the new S8000 Banderol missile used by the Russian side in attacks on Ukraine, the Telegraph reported on Tuesday. The missile is made of components from different countries and is launched by large Russian Orion drones.
According to Ukrainian experts, it is a light, cheap, small cruise missile that can reach speeds of about 650 km per hour and attack targets at a distance of almost 500 km. Banderol can carry warheads weighing 115 kg. HUR emphasized that the unique feature of this weapon is that it is launched using Russian Orion drones, which means that Russia does not use much more expensive aircraft for this purpose. In the future, Banderol is to be launched by Mi-28 attack helicopters.
According to the Telegraph, the weapon was allegedly used in Russian attacks on southern Ukraine this year, and according to unofficial reports, its targets were Odessa and Mykolaiv.
According to military analyst Vijainder K Thakur, quoted by the British newspaper, the production of this weapon could allow Russia to create a "powerful weapons system" that would give its forces "a significant advantage on the battlefield." He predicts that mass production of the cheap missile could be a milestone for the Russian army.
HUR found that 20 key components of the Banderol missile came from 30 companies, including China, the US, Switzerland, Japan, Australia and South Korea. The engine alone can be bought on Chinese marketplaces AliExpress and Alibaba for £12,000. The missile was also found to contain an American motion tracker, a microcontroller from Switzerland, an Australian information exchange model and a battery from Japan, among other things.
As the British daily noted, "Russia's reliance on foreign components highlights a huge so-called sanctions loophole that allows it to bypass Western restrictions by using complex supply chains via third countries, including China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and neighbouring former Soviet republics."
According to Kiev, the S8000 Banderol model was developed by the Russian arms company Kronstadt, which is subject to sanctions by Western countries.
Russia will not agree to a 30-day ceasefire because it is preparing for an offensive and plans to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian political scientist Yevhen Mahda, head of the Institute of World Policy in Kiev, said on Tuesday.
"Russia wants to dictate, and because of its political position, it is trying to show that it can force through anything. Therefore, at the moment, this is a fairly clear position. I do not see any reason why Russia would agree to a 30-day ceasefire. It is preparing for an offensive, where it has concentrated significant forces, for example, it has the prospect of entering the Dnipropetrovsk region, and this is quite realistic," the expert said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he wants to negotiate an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin during talks in Turkey this week because only the Russian leader can decide on that.
"I think that a meeting between Zelensky and Putin will simply not take place. There are no illusions about it. Putin is a coward. And in this situation, to be honest, I see no reason to expect him to come to Turkey," Mahda noted.
In his opinion, the Ukrainian leader is doing a good job, but his expectations are too high. "He expects big sanctions, but will it be realistic? So far, it probably isn't," he noted.
Zelensky recalled on Tuesday that Ukraine had invited US President Donald Trump to Thursday's meeting, but there was no confirmation of his presence. "I don't know the US president's decision, but in any case, if he confirmed his participation, I think it would give Putin an additional impetus to come," he added.
According to the expert, Putin needs US President Donald Trump as a political figure he can influence. "In reality, hypothetical trilateral talks pose a serious threat to Ukraine. Because in my experience, Putin's ability to psychologically influence Trump is greater than Zelensky's in this regard," he explained.
The Ukrainian president announced a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday and announced an agreement between them to fly together to Istanbul if Putin arrives there.
"Erdogan can be seen as a potential mediator, it is being discussed and we see that efforts are being made to make it happen. On the other hand, China is cautiously signaling that it supports a 30-day ceasefire. There is a signal that a pool of mediators may be formed, but there is still a long way to go," Mahda said.
According to the expert, Ukraine now has no other choice but to continue diplomacy and increase support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Russia has no instrumental mechanism that could stop the war. They have gathered such +scum+ in their armed forces that stopping the war now would mean creating a threat, spilling it inside their country," Mahda explained.
"We must understand that there will be no complete cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, only their suspension, and in the event of a suspension, Russia will strike an EU country that borders it with a probability exceeding 80 percent in order to destroy Euro-Atlantic unity. In the current situation, I have very serious doubts that the United States will defend its European partners," Mahda said.
From Kiev Iryna Hirnyk
mzb/ mal/
bankier.pl
