In brief: Russia has outfitted its Iskander ballistic missiles with optical and radar homing seekers capable of adjusting terminal trajectories to hit targets within meters, deploying them against Kyiv’s bridges in an effort to split Ukraine along the Dnipro River. Presidential advisor Serhii Beskrestnov confirmed the systems were used in recent strikes – including four hits on Kyiv’s North Bridge in a single night – to bypass electronic warfare jamming.
Russia has equipped its Iskander ballistic missiles with advanced optical and radar homing seekers capable of altering flight trajectories during their terminal phase to strike targets within meters, using the upgraded munitions to hit Kyiv’s bridges in an effort to sever Ukraine along the Dnipro River.
According to The Telegraph, the new seeker heads scan the terrain via radar seconds before warhead detonation, allowing the missiles to adjust their descent, bypass Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) jamming, and achieve pinpoint accuracy against narrow structural targets.
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Ukrainian presidential advisor Serhii Beskrestnov confirmed that Russian forces deployed the upgraded guidance systems during recent strikes on Kyiv’s crossings. The attacks disrupted transit between the capital’s left and right banks and form part of a broader Kremlin campaign to split the country in two.
Over recent weeks, Russian forces initially deployed jet-powered strike drones to target Kyiv’s eight main bridges before escalating to ballistic missile barrages against major spans – including four Iskander missiles hitting the capital’s North Bridge within a single night last weekend.
How the new seekers change Iskander ballistic performance
Military analysts note that terminal guidance marks a significant technical shift for Russian short-range ballistic weaponry, which has historically suffered from accuracy limitations during final descent.
Mauro Gilli, a professor of military strategy and technology at the Hertie School in Berlin, explained that standard ballistic missiles follow a parabolic path where final descent relies purely on gravity, leaving a wider margin of error.
“The thing about ballistic missiles is that they have a degree of error, because ballistic missiles have a parabolic trajectory. This means the flight path is guided by an onboard computer and when it reaches the given altitude, it positions the missile. But the last phase is usually pure gravity. Now, this has changed,” Gilli said.
However, the professor emphasized that despite increased accuracy, the upgraded missiles have failed to collapse Kyiv’s heavily engineered river crossings, noting that the probability of Moscow destroying the spans outright remains low.
Russia’s wider strategy against Dnipro River crossings
The intensified strikes follow orders from Russian military command to systematically target key bridges across the Dnipro River to paralyze military and civilian logistics and degrade living conditions in major cities ahead of winter, according to Denis Yaroslavsky, commander of Ukraine’s 57th Motorized Brigade.
Since early October, Russian forces have struck Kyiv’s South Bridge on Oct. 1-2, the North Bridge on Oct. 3-4 and Nov. 7, a cable-stayed bridge in Zaporizhzhia on Oct. 6, and Dnipro city’s Central Bridge on Oct. 30.
Following a meeting with Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi on Nov. 9, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow is pursuing a coordinated operation against bridges and power grids to divide Ukraine along the Dnipro.
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