Russian-occupied Luhansk, 100 km from the front line, was hit by an unknown weapon using American ADM-160B MALD decoy missiles

On the evening of May 12, an explosion occurred in the center of Lugansk, which was occupied by Russian troops. There was a blow

struck at the plant by an unknown weapon.

What is known

The missile hit the building, which is locatedabout 100 km from the front line. This means that the strike could not have been delivered by GMLRS rockets, since they have a maximum launch range of about 80 km.

Naturally, speculation immediately arose thatthe attack was carried out with a Storm Shadow missile. On the eve of the UK officially announced the transfer of such missiles to Ukraine. Which version was received by the Armed Forces of Ukraine is currently unknown, but even the export version (250 km) is enough to strike at the occupied territory.

#Ukraine: Remains of ???????? AGM-160B MALD decoy missiles were found today after a powerful strike on a Russian target in the city of #Luhansk.

Decoys like this are designed to deceive the enemy's air defense systems, and as in this case, to allow a real munition to pass through. pic.twitter.com/IzjGGGk2bH

— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) May 12, 2023

What’s more interesting is that at the scene of the explosion there wereremains of ADM-160B Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) detected. This is an American aircraft cruise missile that is used as a decoy to deplete enemy air defense systems and distract attention. It was developed 20 years ago by Raytheon. MALD carriers can be Soviet MiG-29 fighters.