A military convoy, consisting of military trucks and Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile systems marked with the ‘V’ letter, was spotted in the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol, southeastern Ukraine.
Pictures have appeared on social media that reportedly show Russian Tochka-U missiles in an occupied Ukrainian city.
The Thocka-U is a mobile missile launch system, designed to be deployed along with other land combat units on the battlefield. The missile itself can be used for precise strikes on enemy tactical targets, such as control posts, bridges, storage facilities, troop concentrations and airfields. The fragmentation warhead can be replaced with a nuclear, biological or chemical warhead. The solid propellant makes the missile easy to maintain and deploy.
The missile launcher and TEL vehicle are based on unique BAZ-5921 6×6 amphibious wheeled chassis.
Since the invasion began on February 24, Russian forces have repeatedly used Soviet-era ballistic systems to strike Ukrainian positions and create provocations. So the Russians fired at the railway station in Kramatorsk and the downtown of Donetsk, blaming the Ukrainian side for this, and regularly strike at residential areas in Kramatorsk, Sloviansk.
On 16 March, Russian officials assured in their letter to the UN Security Council and General Assembly that Tochka-U tactical missiles are not in service in the Russian Armed Forces.
“… it should be noted that Tochka-U tactical missiles are not in service in the Russian Armed Forces,” the letter says.
The Russian military also says that its army has not used Tochka-U missiles since late 2019 when the last missile and artillery unit was rearmed with Iskander tactical missile systems, which is, simply put, a lie.