Russia Reportedly Used Cluster-Warhead Iskander Missiles in Kyiv Strike

Russia’s overnight ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on August 5 appears to have included 9M723K1/5 Iskander-M tactical ballistic missiles equipped with cluster warheads, according to OSINT analyst OSINTWarfare, who assessed footage from the strike.

According to the assessment, the missiles dispersed multiple submunitions over the target area before detonation—a pattern consistent with cluster warheads. Such warheads are designed to engage personnel and lightly armored targets across a wide area, increasing the size of the impact zone.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 143 aerial weapons overnight, including 24 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, four Zircon/Oniks anti-ship missiles, and 115 attack drones, including Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas, and Parodiya UAVs.

Air defenses reported intercepting 98 drones, while none of the ballistic missiles were shot down. The primary target of the attack was the Kyiv region.

The Kyiv City Military Administration (KCMA) said the missile strike triggered multiple large fires across the capital. Initial reports indicated casualties in Kyiv, while authorities in the wider Kyiv region later reported 14 people killed and at least 27 injured as emergency crews continued search-and-rescue operations.

Although Ukrainian officials have not formally identified the missile payload, the videos show dozens of nearly simultaneous explosions after the missile’s main detonation—a characteristic commonly associated with cluster warheads that release multiple submunitions over a broad area.

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War in Ukraine

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If confirmed, the use of such warheads in an attack on an urban area would significantly expand the affected zone because the dispersed submunitions can strike targets across a wide radius.

The attack comes days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s air defense network faces a critical shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles capable of countering ballistic threats.

“It is very important that our partners hear that these systems are needed not somewhere in warehouses for possible scenarios, but here and now, so that Russia’s war can be contained and stopped in Ukraine. Every package of anti-ballistic capabilities saves the lives of our people. And every night without them leads to casualties,” Zelenskyy wrote following an earlier Russian ballistic missile attack.

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