The Russian military used multimillion-dollar Kalibr missiles to fire at wooden decoys made by Ukrainians to resemble HIMARS systems obtained from the United States, The Washington Post reports.

Post journalists refer to the words of a Ukrainian official and an American diplomat that Ukrainian defenders made wooden decoys, which, when shot by Russian drones, resemble American volley fire systems.

Russian drones transmitted data on the location of the “systems” to the Black Sea Fleet, which attacked the mock-ups, mistaking them for real targets.

“After several weeks in the field, at least 10 Kalibr cruise missiles were fired at decoys, an initial success that allowed Ukraine to expand production of copies for wider use,” said one official quoted by US reporters.

“When drones see these batteries [de rachete]it’s like seeing a VIP target,” said another.

The Russians declared “victory” over the American HIMARS systems

A diplomat interviewed by The Washington Post says the mock strikes may partly explain why Russia’s Defense Ministry has reported the destruction of more HIMARS systems than Ukraine has ever received.

According to a US diplomat quoted by WP, the mock strikes may partly explain why the Russians have reported the destruction of more HIMARS systems than Ukraine has ever received.

“Ukrainian Pravda” reminds that Forbes journalists calculated the production cost of the Kalibr missile at 6.5 million dollars.

In early August, Russia launched $100 million worth of missiles over Ukraine in just one day, but then they were more expensive X-101 (X-555) missiles.

Instead, the 3M14 Caliber missile is a sea-to-surface cruise missile that has become the main weapon of the Russian Navy in recent years. In recent years, the Black Sea Fleet has been modernized to use these missiles.

Russia used Kalibr missiles to attack the civilian population

At the end of April, the Russian armed forces announced that they had launched Kalibr missiles at targets in Ukraine for the first time from submarines in the Black Sea, although such launches are also believed to have taken place before Moscow’s official statement.

Caliber missiles were also used by the Russians during the attack on the Ukrainian city of Vinita, as a result of which more than 20 civilians were killed in mid-July.

Caliber missiles launched vertically from warships or submarines have a range of 1,500-2,500 kilometers, from where they can hit Kyiv from the Black Sea.

In April, the Russian newspaper “Pravda” wrote that Romania could become the first NATO country to suffer from “Caliber” missile attacks, if Ukraine hits targets on Russian territory with weapons obtained from the West.

In mid-August, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Igor Osipov, after a series of bombings at military bases in Crimea, but that was hardly the only thing that happened to him.

On the same topic: How Russia’s powerful Black Sea fleet ended up retreating due to Ukrainian attacks

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