Mystery in Donetsk! Did Ukraine Just Launch a Secret Cruise Missile?

Ukraine launched a barrage of drones and missiles to slow Russian reinforcements massing in the east.

A crashed Bars. Via social media

Russian reinforcements are surging into Donetsk Oblast, staging for what many observes anticipate will be a major mechanized assault on the fortress city of Pokrovsk.

But Ukrainian forces aren’t just sitting around waiting for the attack. They’re positioning their own reinforcements around Pokrovsk. And they’re hitting the newly arriving Russian regiments at their assembly points in Donetsk City—potentially with a previously unknown cruise missile type.

That Ukraine can still surprise observers with a new missile type isn’t actually all that surprising. Forty-three months into Russia’s wider war, Ukraine has become a world-leader in deep-strike technology. By necessity.

On Monday, the Ukrainians targeted the defunct Topaz metallurgy plant on the eastern edge of Donetsk City, 50 km southeast of Pokrovsk. The plant is well-known as a staging base for Russian forces moving toward the Donetsk front line.

A barrage of aerial munitions pummeled Topaz. Photos and videos from the plant confirmed no fewer than three different types of munitions. Possibly more.

Among other weapons, it seems the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces or special services struck Topaz with propeller-driven An-196 and, potentially, Morok attack drones. Meanwhile, the air force launched locally made Bars or Peklo cruise missiles as well as British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

The missiles and drones zoomed in one after another, in quick succession. Imagery from the aftermath of the attack pointed to heavy damage. Other imagery may have revealed fragments of a new Ukrainian missile.

Read the rest at Euromaidan Press.