Ukraine built US rocket systems' replicas to trick Russia into wasting missiles: Report

Ukraine is apparently employing wooden replicas of advanced US rocket systems to deceive Russia into wasting its missiles on them, according to media reports. The Washington Post reported that the decoy versions of US-supplied rocket launcher systems attracted at least 10 Russian Kalibr cruise missiles prompting Ukraine to increase its manufacturing of replicas in an attempt to entice Moscow into launching its expensive long-range missiles on fictitious targets.

According to a senior Ukrainian official quoted in the Washington Post, "when the UAVs see the battery, it's like a VIP target," referring to the Russian drones that identify the long-range artillery replicas and send their location to their naval cruise missiles.

The Washington Post stated that its information was based on interviews with senior US and Ukrainian officials, as well as images of the replicas seen by the paper. Since the commencement of the war, Russia has regularly boasted that it has destroyed many US-made missiles, including the long-range Himars missile systems, assertions that the US has dismissed as "patently false."

"They’ve claimed to have hit more Himars than we have even sent," one US diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the media organisation.

According to experts, western-supplied rocket systems have been essential in Ukraine's victories over Russian forces, and the most recent study seems to further emphasise some of the measures taken by Ukraine to protect its western-supplied weapons. Russian military stockpiles and supply lines have been hit by Ukraine using weaponry supplied by the US, slowing down Moscow's operation in the eastern Donbass region.

Russian missile stockpiles have significantly decreased: Ukraine

The weaponry are also seen to be essential for Kyiv's eagerly anticipated counter-offensive, which aims to retake the Kherson province in the south. Russia withholds information regarding the cache of precision-guided missiles it has in Ukraine. Russian missile stockpiles have significantly decreased, according to Ukrainian intelligence, which stated last week that Russia only had "at most 45% of its missiles remaining."

A senior US official added that sanctions would make it more difficult for Russia to restock its pricey, high-tech missiles. The alleged employment of decoy rocket systems is another indication that Ukraine is prepared to employ unconventional strategies in its conflict with a militarily superior army.

According to a New York Times article published on August 30, some of Ukraine's largest military victories were attained by using the armaments at their disposal in unconventional ways, such as mounting missiles on trucks and installing rocket systems on speedboats.

Image: AP