Ukraine Exported Nuclear-Capable Cruise Missiles to China, Iran, Lawmaker Alleges

A senior Ukrainian lawmaker has alleged that Ukraine sold nuclear-capable cruise missiles to China and Iran, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Dec. 1, 2004).

In a letter to recently elected President Viktor Yushchenko, lawmaker Hrihory Omelchenko said that an investigation launched last summer “proved that some 20 air-launched Kh-55 and Kh-55M cruise missiles with nuclear capability were exported to third countries,” according to AP. The exports, which included 12 missiles intended for Russia being shipped six each to Iran and China, occurred from 1999 to 2001, the letter said.

The Kh-55 cruise missile has a range of up to 3,000 kilometers, is capable of carrying a 200-kiloton nuclear warhead, and was developed for use on Russian Tupolev long-range bombers, according to AP.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s office began investigating the alleged transfers last summer and “this year we received new information,” spokesman Vyacheslav Astapov said (Aleksandar Vasovic, Associated Press/Yahoo!News,, Feb. 2).

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