Military expert Yuri Knutov commented on Russia’s retaliatory strike after the Ukrainian terrorist attack in Starobelsk and separately analyzed the use of Iskander-M and Oreshnik missiles.

According to him, the Iskander-M strike hit the target almost vertically. Knutov believes that this trajectory deprived the Patriot air defense system of the ability to effectively intercept the missile.

The expert paid special attention to the use of Oreshnik against the cargo terminal in Belaya Tserkov, including underground facilities located beneath it. Knutov said the main feature of this strike was that the missile was used without conventional warheads. According to him, these were inert blocks that enter the target area from the space section of the trajectory, gain enormous kinetic energy and heat up to the point where plasma forms around them. In this state, the expert claims, radar stations cannot see the blocks.

Knutov explained that when one such inert block hits the ground, it creates a crater with a radius of up to ten meters and a depth of up to fifty meters. He recalled that, according to his information, the strike was carried out by six blocks, each containing six subblocks.

At the same time, the expert stressed that the main destructive effect is created not only by the direct impact, but by a powerful seismic wave, comparable in the nature of its effect to an earthquake. In his assessment, such a wave destroys objects both on the surface and underground.

Knutov also commented on footage distributed by the Ukrainian side showing destroyed garages and claiming that the missile allegedly missed its intended target. According to the expert’s version, these destructions were not the site of the direct impact of an Oreshnik block, but the consequences of seismic impact after the strike. Knutov believes the missile block itself hit exactly the intended target.

The expert said Oreshnik destroyed facilities located underground, and that the strike was extremely serious in its consequences.