Russia Fires Feared 'Ship-Killer' Bastion-P Missiles Against Targets In Ukraine, Releases Video

Russia has released a video showing it firing K-300P Bastion-P coastal defense missile system against targets in Ukraine. The footage, released by the Ministry of Defense, shows three missiles fired back to back from a location thought to be somewhere in annexed Crimea.

Soon after, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed the missiles fired from the Bastion systems destroyed "a large arsenal with weapons and military equipment of the Ukrainian troops, including those received from Western countries."

Russian army spokesman Igor Konashenkov had earlier said the coastal missile system was fired for the first time against land targets. Though Konashenkov stated that the missile was used to destroy Ukrainian military radio and reconnaissance centers near the Black Sea port of Odessa, there was no confirmation from Ukraine.

However, military tracker H I Sutton, who has been following the Russian invasion closely, reported that the geo-locations hinted at the targets at the north of Odessa, which was seen burning. Analysts like Joseph Dempsey of the International Institute for Strategic Studies too confirmed the fact.

According to military sources, though the main role of the Bastion-P is to engage various surface ships, carrier battle groups, convoys, or landing craft, they are occasionally fired on surface targets too.

The fire-and-forget type missile has a range of 300 km with a hi-low flight trajectory and 120 km with a low-low flight trajectory. As for warheads, the options include 440-pound high-explosive, 550-pound semi-armor-piercing, or submunitions.

It can carry nuclear or conventional warheads. Russian Navy had earlier deployed it around certain key maritime areas, including Crimea, Kaliningrad, the Kuril Islands, and the Arctic.

According to The Drive, considering its maximum range, the Bastion-P will be able to strike targets along the coast of mainland Ukraine, including Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson when launched from Sevastopol, the south of Crimea. The report added that moving the launchers further north would cover a huge area of southern Ukraine too.

However, debates rage as to why Kremlin decided to use Bastion-P despite it not being the first-choice weapon for attacking land targets. While the report says one reason could be that "the systems are well-positioned to strike mainland Ukraine," another possibility is that there is a shortage of dedicated land-attack missiles, like the naval-launched 3M14 Kalibr. The US has earlier said that Russia was running short of precision-guided standoff weaponry.

Using Bastion-P could also be a Russian tactic to signal this capability to the West or to potential customers. The Bastion system, called Yakhont when exported, is being considered by many foreign customers including Syria, Indonesia and Vietnam.