Russia's problem missiles

 Business Insider:

Russia's air-launched ballistic missiles are not proving "undefeatable" in practice, UK intelligence observed on Tuesday.

The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update that Russia's Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles had a "mixed combat debut" in Ukraine.

"Many of its launches have likely missed their intended targets, while Ukraine has also succeeded in intercepting attacks by this supposedly 'undefeatable' system," it said.

The line about it being undefeatable came from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who used the word when it was unveiled in 2018. Other Russian officials have made much the same.

The prompt for the update was Russia deploying the missile again for the first time in months.

The MOD assessment said that Russia likely launched one at a target in central Ukraine on December 14, the missile's first outing since August.

According to a Telegram post by Ukraine's Air Force, Russia launched three of them towards Kyiv and a strategic airfield in the western city of Starokonstantinov.

An anti-missile unit intercepted one in the Kyiv region, Ukraine said. It didn't say what happened to the other two.

The MOD already reported in October that Kinzhal's performance had so far been "poor," despite the bombast with which Russia describes it.
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Russia continues to have problems with some of its weapon systems and the war in Ukraine is exposing those problems.  Russia should be seen as a much weaker power than it was before its unnecessary war in Ukraine.