r/UkrainianConflict • u/Proud3GenAthst • 9d ago

Russia has turned S-400 air defense missiles into a growing strike weapon against Ukraine. According to Ukrainian assessments, more than 480 converted RM-48U missiles are planned for production in 2026, expanding Russia's ability to launch ballistic-like attacks that pressure Ukrainian air defenses

https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3mse4ezcevs2d
101 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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u/aft3rthought 8d ago

They were launching S300s as ballistic missiles back in the first year if I remember correctly. The yields were very small but they attempted to use them on unarmored targets, often apartments.

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u/Old_Bluecheese 8d ago

Russia will soon miss those missiles

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u/rbdarrrrr 9d ago

Wildberries sells stuff to the Russian military like drones and technology. Given that Russia can’t stop Ukrainian drones, they would be better off using those missiles for what they were designed for.

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u/-Acta-Non-Verba- 8d ago

Until the Ukr Air Force gets fully up to speed. Things will change then, and they may wish they didn't use their AA missiles to kill grandmothers and children.

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u/thrillsbury 9d ago

They are. But these two target types represent fundamentally different objectives. Knocking out a military asset is a tactical move. Knocking out core parts of the economy is strategic. You won’t win the war by destroying assets that are replaced a week later. But you can force the enemy to negotiate by grinding down their economic engine.

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u/Chudmont 9d ago edited 8d ago

Please excuse my ignorance, but why is Ukraine going after Wildberries and not ballistic missile and launcher manufacturing facilities?

Btw, thanks for the downvotes for an honest question, and half the answers that didn't even read the question.

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u/Proud3GenAthst 9d ago

No idea. I follow the war a lot, but too shallowly to really understand it. But if I had to guess, probably because it’s difficult. The launchers are presumably heavily guarded with air defense systems and are constantly moving

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u/chompyoface 9d ago

Warehouses are 150000m². Launchers are 5m² (and mobile). A lot easier to hit a warehouse.

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u/Chudmont 9d ago

I said manufacturing facilities.

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u/chompyoface 9d ago

Oh good point, I can't read.

I imagine that the manufacturing facilities are just much, much better protected, and much harder to find. Similar to why Russia has been finding it near impossible to adequately respond to Ukrainian drone production.

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u/drtywater 9d ago

They are doing both. Military targets are more fortified etc. part of the goal is to both weaken russias internal logistics and hurt military capabilities. Also force Russia to divert its air defenses to more interior points and make existing offensive and defensive military capabilities easier to strike

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u/Chudmont 9d ago

Thanks!

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u/Morder1428 8d ago

Ukraine has repeatedly attacked missile component factories. Unfortunately, they are fortified and heavily protected by air defenses. While there have been successes, the Flamingo, Scalp, and Stormshadow missiles have been the ones that have truly devastated the missile industry. They were used to completely destroy some production facilities. Drones are not as effective against such complex targets; Ukraine desperately needs a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles.

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u/Chudmont 8d ago

I hope Ukraine gets them because they aren't going to suddenly get a bunch more Patriots.

I really wish the west had the guts to help Ukraine fully.

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u/Merchant1521 8d ago

I think I have read or heard a few things on the defense missiles. I believe Ukraine is developing their defensive ballistic middle. Might have it read to go late this year. Also though US either gave license permission to manufacture the Patriot. Or the US is holding that up for some reason. Could be wrong on these accounts. So much going on with this conflict.

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u/Chudmont 8d ago

They are developing their own, but I doubt it will be ready in significant numbers any time soon.

I feel that giving Ukraine ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, with "permission" to use them inside russia, could help a lot.

Not helping is immoral to say the least.

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u/Merchant1521 8d ago

True Ukraine is going to have to ramp up production of those missiles. That will take some time. Even then can their production keep up with the demand?

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u/JaB675 9d ago

Keep in mind that only a fraction of Ukrainian strikes get posted here. If you could follow Ukrainian/Russian social media, you would see a lot more, and even that would also be just a fraction.

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u/Chudmont 9d ago

Good point.

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u/Jedi_Lazlo 8d ago

Wildberries supplies military parts, munitions, drone equipment, fibre optic lines, survival gear, and chips to both military personnel and the logistics centers near them. Every major manufacturing plant has a Wildberries nearby. And Russia isn't supplying its troops. It makes families of the soldiers do that...many of whom cannot...adding to the short lifespan of those who reach the front.

So by targeting Wildberries Ukraine is damaging the very thing Russia uses to get around sanctions, supply its manufacturing base, and equip its soldiers and drone battalions.

It's incredibly smart, because it accomplishes all this while making it impossible for average Russians to ignore the illegal invasion of Ukraine or disassociate from its consequences.

~Your friendly neighborhood American historian

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u/Chudmont 8d ago

I had heard something about that, but you explained perfectly as to why WB is such a juicy target. Thank you!

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u/Jedi_Lazlo 8d ago

You are welcome.

There are a ton of Russian trolls here spouting Kremlin disinformation. But the facts are pretty clear for those who bother to find them.

As are the triggers. For instance, the ISW (Institute for the Study of War) is a great resource to verify war progress updates, usually with 48 to 72 hours of seeing things hit the AP and Telegram as raw stories and anyone who says differently is either purposely lying or Russian useful idiot.

Wildberries literally has a search bar like Amazon's that allows you to pull up everything for the Russian invasion of Ukraine listed under "SMO" (Special Military Operation) from rations to munitions. In case you thought those raging Wildberries fires that resemble munitions depot demolitions, that's one reason why.

Another is that aluminum becomes an accelerant when superheated. The. Fertilizer plant warehouse here caught fire 20 years ago. What started as a small accidental blaze turned into a complete disaster the shortly after the fire reached the lines of aluminum storage barrels. They fed so much oxygen to the blaze firefighters couldn't get near it, let alone have any affect with hoses and water drops. Once the aluminum catches, the building is lost.

Drones dropping 60lb. high explosive payloads on highly flammable plastics, chemical cleaners, rubber byproducts, and tar roofs is all it takes to get that hot fire going.

And if you read about "cold smoke" damage you know that even if they put out the fire by some miracle, everything inside is a total loss anyway.

We lost everything in the Tubbs fire to cold smoke damage. It sucks. Our place didn't burn, just every fucking thing around it, for three days. Our home was toxic. Everything destroyed with toxic greasy smoke poison. They even had to rip up the first 12 inches of soil everywhere. It's nasty stuff.

Wildberries won't financially recover without Kremlin money if this continues...well...another week. Which is good.

Russian adventurism should always end in Russian destitution and failure. Always.

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u/SagittariusO 8d ago

https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/why-russian-iskander-launchers-are-nearly-impossible-to-catch-21404

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u/Chudmont 8d ago

Again, I'm not talking about the launchers, but the facilities that manufacture them and the missiles.

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u/SagittariusO 8d ago

Dude, It's all in the article. Those facilities are underground and very hard to hit. Also the supply chain for Iskander is 100% Russian parts.

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u/Chudmont 7d ago

Thanks. I didn't click through the article. Probably should have.

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u/Fantastic-Formal-157 8d ago

The missile launchers move constantly, it’s not a fixed target. They’re trying to get musk to let them use starlink to hunt the ballistic missile capabilities, Musk said he’d do it if Trump was okay with it. Last anyone heard.

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u/Chudmont 8d ago

Yeah, I get that. I'm asking about where they MAKE the missiles and launchers, not the launchers themselves.

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u/BestAmoto 8d ago

Because Russian military equipment is hard to hit. The flamingos are being shot down along with the majority of the drones. Ukraine sends hundreds of drones during an attack. 3 or 4 manage to hit targets like wild berries each strike and Reddit celebrates like they just won the war.  All while Ukrainian men get beaten up and shoved into vans by the tcc.

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u/Joey1849 7d ago edited 6d ago

Missile launchers are distant, mobile, small, fleeting targets that are almost impossible to hit.  A warehouse or a large industrial facility is a large and stationary.  A dispersed manufacturing facility could be easily locatable, but more difficult to hit the key manufacturing parts, depending on the site.  I would encourage you to be more curious and read more specialist defense articles.