Missile remnants from Kyiv pond: Sappers safely detonate threat

The Ukrainian rescue service recently reported an unusual discovery in one of Kyiv’s ponds. The remnants of a Russian Kh-101 missile were found. The wreck posed a significant danger to people—like a ticking time bomb—so it was taken by sappers and detonated in a safe location.

Ukrainians have frequently come across unexploded Russian missiles and bombs in various areas. In recent months, a warhead from a Russian Kinzhal Kh-47M2 hypersonic missile was identified in the Khmelnytskyi region. Sappers handled this due to the threat it posed to residents.

A similar discovery occurred in Kyiv recently. In one of the ponds near buildings, Ukrainians found remnants of a Kh-101 cruise missile—one of the weapons increasingly used by Russians for shelling and also one of the most advanced developed by their defence industry.

According to the Ukrainian service, the dangerous find was handled by appropriate units. It was decided to transport the missile, damaged during a previous shelling towards Kyiv, to a safe place and then conduct a controlled detonation to ensure the weapon did not threaten residents. Simultaneously, Ukrainian services issued a notice advising citizens not to touch any weapon remnants. "Immediately report the discovery of a suspicious object to the services and wait for specialists," the notice read.

The Kh-101 missile found in Kyiv has been produced serially by the Russian defence industry since 2010-2011. This means that the Kh-101 is one of the latest designs in the arsenal of the Russian Federation. Over the years, the weapon has undergone several upgrades—today, the Russians are shelling Ukraine with the fourth version of this missile.

In its latest version, the Kh-101 is equipped with two warheads, one of which is a cluster warhead. This allows for strikes over a larger area than with a standard warhead. Notably, the Kh-101 includes a modern Otblesk-U guidance module that compares the image recorded during flight with pre-recorded data stored in its memory. This ensures the strike accuracy of this missile is determined to be within a few metres.

The impressive range of the Kh-101, which is said to be up to 5,000 kilometres, has likely been reduced due to recent ammunition updates. However, it remains extensive enough to launch the missile from safe positions within Russian territory. The maximum speed of the Kh-101 is approximately 1,000 kilometres per hour (or 620 mph).