Ukraine conflict: Kyiv charts Kh-101 upgrades as Russia seeks to foil Ukrainian defences

A Russian Air Force Tu-160 ‘Blackjack' bomber drops a Kh-101 air-launched cruise missile. The Ukrainian MoD asserts that Russia has rolled out four primary upgrades to the missile since the war began in February 2022. (Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has outlined upgrades that Russia has applied to the Tactical Missile Corporation (JSC) Kh-101, as Moscow has sought to foil Ukraine's air defences and enhance the effects of the air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) over four years of war.

On 12 May 2026, the MoD outlined four primary changes that the Russians have made to the Kh-101 since their full-scale invasion was launched in February 2022. These, it said, have been made in an attempt to compensate for the growing effectiveness of Ukraine's air defences, and to intensify their terror effects against Ukraine's civilian population.

“To effectively counter enemy air attacks, military engineers and scientists of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine systematically study missiles after their use in real combat conditions. In particular, experts found out how Russia methodically transformed the Kh-101 missiles into a means of targeted terror against peaceful cities through modernisation,” the MoD said.

Baseline missile