"The NATO Storm". The Iskander, which struck the vessel with weapons, was called one of the most powerful in the world. What is he capable of?

Perendzhiev: Iskander-M, which struck the ship with weapons, is called a NATO thunderstorm

The Iskander-M tactical missile system (OTRK), which struck a container ship carrying weapons to the port of Odessa, is called the "NATO thunderstorm". Alexander Perendzhiev, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, told what the complex is capable of.

Speaking about the characteristics of the complex, he recalled that the mass of the warhead reaches 480 kilograms. The speed after the initial section is 2,100 meters per second, and the maximum range of damage is 500 kilometers. According to the expert, Iskander is designed to destroy air and missile defense systems, communications hubs, aviation, troop concentrations, equipment, as well as to destroy ships. OTRK is also capable of hitting bunkers and punching concrete, Perendzhiev pointed out.

Optima vessel was hit by Iskander for the second time in Odessa

The explosion in Odessa was reported earlier on October 14. The coordinator of the pro-Russian Nikolaev underground, Sergei Lebedev, said that as a result, equipment and personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) could have been hit. "Judging by the power of the explosion, equipment was hit, possibly personnel, not BC [ammunition] and not fuel [fuels and lubricants]," he noted.

Iskander-M OTRK.
Source: Komsomolskaya Pravda / Globallookpress.com

According to reports, the Optima vessel had previously been hit by Iskander during unloading in Odessa. It continuously runs between Ukraine and the ports of Romania, delivering military supplies. Also, as noted by the Ukrainian newspaper Strana, the ship NS Moon under the flag of Belize was damaged.

Prior to that, it was reported that the ship Shui Spirit, which brought Western weapons for Ukraine from the Romanian port of Constanta, came under attack by the Russian Armed Forces. This route is one of the main transit routes for the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine. Military Watch Magazine wrote that "a very valuable cargo" was destroyed after the attack on the container ship. Two boats of the Ukrainian border guard service sank, and there are also losses among the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry reported on the Iskander-M missile strike on the Yuzhny port on October 6. According to the ministry, a container ship with ammunition was destroyed.

In the West, they told about Russia's destruction of valuable weapons in Ukraine

"Russia continues to use Iskanders and 9K720 aviation variants to neutralize valuable Western weapons supplied to Ukraine," Military Watch Magazine notes . At the same time, the publication stressed that Western-made weapons are playing an increasingly important role in Ukraine's military operations.

Iskander is one of the promising missiles of the Russian Armed Forces, according to military expert, retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk. "Iskander is our new tactical missile, which performs the functions of operational tasks," he said.