A cruise missile fired from Russian navy ships in the Caspian Sea towards Ukraine Saturday crashed in the Pavlovsky district of Russia’s Krasnodar region.
Local reports confirm that the missile crashed in the morning, leaving behind a visible impact crater in a field between the Pavlovskaya and Atamanskaya settlements.
The local community claims that the missile’s descent occurred overnight, with footage emerging in the morning revealing the crater and the remains of a missile. Authorities promptly closed off the adjacent road for “special measures,” though no official statements have been released regarding the incident.
Roman Parakhin, the head of the Pavlovsky district, stated, “Due to the implementation of special measures by law enforcement agencies, the section of the regional highway between Pavlovskaya and Leningradskaya stations is temporarily closed. We ask drivers to choose alternative routes when planning their travels in this direction.”
— snatch (@sna7c4) January 13, 2024
An analysis of the remnants, captured in a video by a local resident, suggests that the missile in question belonged to the Kalibr (NATO: SS-N-30A) family, launched earlier in the morning from the Caspian Sea to target locations within Ukraine.
While no injuries were reported.
The Kalibr is a Russian land attack cruise missile (LACM) and an improved version of the 3M-14E “Club” LACM. The missile has an estimated range of around 1,500 to 2,500 km and has become a mainstay in the Russian Navy’s ground-strike capabilities.