What are Iskander-M ballistic missiles that Russia frequently uses against Ukraine?

A few days back, it was reported that Ukraine received a setback when Russian forces rained down its famous Iskander M ballistic missiles. These missiles destroyed two S-400 air defense systems of Ukraine. This happened in the Poltava region of Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry published footages of this incident. Russia is increasingly using these missiles and it is believed to be the fourth strike on Ukraine in a span of six days. It has also been reported that Ukraine has adopted a well-known war tactic of using decoys to engage with the Russians. The latter would be tricked into striking dummy models without sustaining any major damages.

Iskander-M ballistic missiles:

It is important to understand these Russian manufactured missiles. They are short range ballistic missiles. They have a range of 500km. It has a weight of up to 8900 pounds and it was first used by the Russians in 2008 against Georgia. Russia claims that these missiles are unique and no western country can make it before 2025.

Ukraine’s strategy:

The Ukrainians claim that they forced the Russians to strike at dummy models resembling aircrafts and air defense systems. The Ukrainian air force posted about this tactic on their Telegram channel. According to them, these dummy models were placed at an airfield close the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine and Yuzhne area near the city of Odesa which is a port located on the Black Sea.

This is not the first time that Ukraine has used this tactic against the Russians ever since the latter's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia too has used such deceptive techniques by painting objects to reflect naval vessels on land.

FAQ’s
What happened in Georgia?
The Russians invaded Georgia in 2008 and captured two key areas which they soon proclaimed to be an independent republic. These two territories are South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

What happened to Crimea?
The Russians invaded this part of Ukraine in 2014 and captured the territory. They reintegrated it into Russia after claiming that an overwhelming majority of the people in a referendum voted to join Russia. The independence of this is not recognized by any country.