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Crater from a Missile
At the same time, an RS-28 Sarmat
intercontinental ballistic missile exploded
without Ukrainian involvement. Satellite
images revealed that on Friday, September
20, or Saturday, September 21, it failed during
a test at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The failure—
however catastrophic for Russia—was a relief
for the rest of the world. The missile never left
its silo, leaving behind a massive crater over
60 meters (196 feet) in diameter.
The explosion might have occurred upon
engine ignition or as the missile started to lift
off and then fell back. Another possibility is
that the test was aborted, causing the missile
to explode during fuel unloading.
The RS-28 is one of the "wonder weapons"
Putin announced in 2018. Its first and only
successful test took place in April 2022.
Afterwards, a contract for production was
signed, and the missile received operational
status in September 2023, even though all
subsequent tests—including the most recent
one—failed.
Zero Ukrainian Losses
During this period, the Ukrainian Air Force
reported no confirmed losses of aircraft,
neither in the air nor on the ground during
Russian attacks on the air bases. Only photos
that surfaced were those of an older incident
from April 30, when a Ukrainian MiG-29MU1
made an emergency landing near the village of
Maryina Roshcha in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The aircraft, identified as "White 22" and
belonging to the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade,
was flown by a Lieutenant Colonel whose
name was not disclosed. The plane landed
in a field about 200 meters (656 feet) from
a road, leaving a 500-meter (1,640-foot)
braking trail. The pilot was unharmed, and
the aircraft suffered only minor damage.
Investigators found an auxiliary fuel tank
detached from the fuselage and split into
two pieces, approximately 320 meters (1,050
feet) from the plane. Photos were released on
Sunday, September 8.
A silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome before and after the RS-28 Sarmat missile test. A crater,
over 60 meters (196 feet) in diameter, was captured by Maxar's satellite.
A Ukrainian
MiG-29MU1, "White
22," that landed
in a field back
in April. These
photos were only
released recently.
UKRAINE
INFO Eduard32
November 2024