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Russia Reportedly Used New “Mini” Missile Against Ukraine. Here’s What We Know
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russian forces have reportedly used a new small-sized cruise missile in an attack on Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Telegram channel Polkovnyk GS, which published photographs of the missile’s remains.
The munition is fitted with a turbojet engine, allowing it to cover long distances and strike targets deep inside Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian sources describe the weapon as conceptually similar to the domestically produced “Peklo” missile-drone — a compact, high-speed system designed for long-range precision strikes.
The design also closely resembles a scaled-down copy of the British–French Storm Shadow (known in France as SCALP), a low-observable cruise missile previously supplied to Ukraine for deep strikes against Russian military infrastructure.
This appears to be the first recorded use of such a “mini Storm Shadow” by Russia, potentially marking an attempt to develop smaller, more cost-effective cruise missiles capable of penetrating air defenses while retaining significant range and accuracy.
Since mid-2023, Ukraine has employed Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles supplied by the United Kingdom and France against Russian military targets.
The weapons have been used in strikes on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, command posts in temporarily occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and—after restrictions were lifted in 2024—against military facilities inside Russia, including in Kursk region.
In July 2025, the UK and France announced plans to restart production of Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles for Ukraine and to jointly develop a new generation of deep-strike and anti-ship weapons.
As Ukraine continues to expand its own long-range strike capabilities, one notable development is the “Peklo” (Ukrainian for “Hell”) — a homegrown jet-powered cruise missile-drone with a reported range of up to 700 kilometers and speeds reaching 700 km/h.
It has entered serial production, with about 100 units built using 70% domestically sourced components. The design is lighter and more compact than earlier Ukrainian models, combining the capabilities of a cruise missile and a one-way attack drone.
Earlier, Russia’s Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies unveiled a new range of interceptor drones at the “Archipelago-2025” forum in Skolkovo, including models resembling Ukrainian designs.
The lineup featured the Skvorets-PVO and Kinzhal high-speed interceptors, the BOLT counter-UAV platform, the Krestnik-M maritime-target drone, and the Ovod-PVO quadcopter, all designed for detecting and neutralizing aerial or maritime threats, according to TheDeadDistrict.
