A new report says Russia is running out of some weapons because critical parts were made in Ukraine, including Kh-55 nuclear capable cruise missiles that are also used by Iran and China.
The Telegraph cited senior defense sources on Friday that Russia can’t restock its Kh-55 cruise missiles, which are launched from the air and can carry nuclear warheads, because they rely on an engine manufactured in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
President Vladimir Putin may ask China to address its arms restocking crisis because they rely on an imported engine that is manufactured in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
The end of the Cold War left Ukraine with 1,612 Kh-55s, 575 of which were handed to Russia while the rest were meant to be destroyed under US-led Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program. However, in 2001 Iran acquired 12 of them illegally from Ukraine in a deal allegedly worth $49.5 million, and an additional six were exported to China.
Subsequently in 2015, Iran unveiled a long-range cruise missile under the name “Soumar”, largely believed to be derived from the Kh-55. In February 2019, Iran unveiled the Hoveyzah Cruise Missile, a surface-to-surface missile that also closely resembles the Kh-55.
The engines for all Russian helicopters, ships and cruise missiles and a substantial portion of fighter jet engines and ground-to-air missile and tank components were being made in Ukrainian factories, which no longer supply Russia for obvious reasons.
