Demolished buildings, power outages affecting millions and hundreds of dead civilians. It is the result of the Russian robotic shelling in which the Iskander weapon system plays a key role.
– It is difficult, if not impossible, to protect against, says Douglas Barrie, researcher in military aviation at The International Institute for Strategic Studies, IISS.
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Low flight path
With a range of 500 kilometers, Iskander is classified as a system for short-range ballistic robots – that is, robots that are only controlled in the firing phase and then follow a trajectory.
– But they don’t really follow a ballistic trajectory. They are more mobile and follow a flatter trajectory which makes them harder to shoot down, says Douglas Barrie.
Found Swedish developed part
The disadvantage for Russia is that the robots are expensive and dependent on around 50 components from the West, according to the report Ukraine.
An example is a Swedish-developed film capacitor that can store current for a short time. Manufacturing took place in Sweden for a long time, but was moved to Portugal several years ago.
All Iskander attacks registered in ACLED’s database. The list is not complete. Photo: Mapcreator
Despite the sanctions, Ukrainian authorities continue to find parts from the West in Iskander.
In January went the anti-corruption authority NACP out that four American components were found in the robot that crashed into the Chernihiv theater in the summer of 2023 and killed seven people.
– The difficulty with sanctions is that they never work as well as hoped, says Douglas Barrie.
– But they have an effect in that they force Russia to trade on the gray market. In the short term, production will probably slow down.
Campaign against the electricity supply
One of Russia’s goals with the Iskander appears to be to cause maximum damage to the Ukrainian electricity supply, according to Barrie.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called the attacks “terror” and is appealing to the West for more air defenses.