Ukraine is expected to begin destroying 225 Kh-22 cruise missiles today at an airfield in the central Zhytomyr region, officials said Monday.  In addition, the destruction of 31 Tu-22 strategic bombers is scheduled to begin Nov. 12 in the eastern city of Poltava, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleh Mykhalko said (see GSN, Aug. 6).

Ukraine plans to destroy 30 of the cruise missiles and six of the bombers by the end of the year, said Ihor Mitiayev, head of the Defense Ministry’s arms elimination program.  A $15 million U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction Program project is funding the destruction (Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Nov. 4).

The Kh-22, called the AS-4 by NATO, has a maximum range of 500 kilometers and can carry either a nuclear or conventional warhead, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS Web site, Nov. 6).

For further information, see:

U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction Program

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