Some of Russia's most "prestigious" cruise missiles are malfunctioning and missing their targets, British secret services said on Tuesday.

One of the Kremlin's most precise guided munitions, the AS23a Kodiak - better known as the Kh-101 - is currently experiencing "production problems" that could be due to rushed production, the UK Ministry of Defense said in a statement on X.

Images taken on March 31 showed debris from the missile in a field in Saratov Oblast, in southern Russia, according to Business Insider. The wreckage was initially thought to be the remains of a "possible Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle", but analysis concluded that the pieces were Kh-101 fragments.

Some of Russia’s ‘prestigious’ guided missiles may be malfunctioning and falling short of their targets: UK intelligence
The Russian AS23a Kodiak missile — also known as the Kh-101 — was designed to hit major military targets like airfields and ships.
InsiderCheryl Teh

"It is very likely that the wreckage was the result of a malfunction of a KODIAK missile that was launched towards Ukraine earlier this morning," said the British Ministry of Defense.

"It is very likely that the malfunction of such a prestigious missile indicates problems in its production, probably affected by sanctions and the rush to meet the demands of the conflict," the government department added.

Designed to hit the most important military targets, including airfields and warships, the AS23a Kodiak is considered one of Russia's most accurate munitions. It carries a payload of almost 450 kilos that can be equipped with high-explosive or fragmentation warheads, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Kh-101 / Kh-102 | Missile Threat
The Kh-101 / Kh-102 is a line of conventional and nuclear capable air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) developed and deployed by Russia. A stealthy missile, the Kh-101/-102 is designed to defeat air defense systems by flying at low, terrain-hugging altitudes to avoid radar systems. The Kh-101 carries a conventional warhead, while the Kh-102 is believed to…
Missile ThreatMissile Defense Project

They are widely used by the Kremlin to hit military targets and destroy Ukraine's grain silos.

Russia hits two power stations

Russia hit two power stations in southern Ukraine early this morning, injuring two people and continuing its strategy of bombing the Ukrainian energy supply network, the Kiev army lamented.

The Ukrainian armed forces said that Russia "attacked southern Ukraine with regular waves of attack drones" and fired three missiles targeting "essential transportation and logistics infrastructure" in the Odessa region.

"Energy infrastructure was damaged" and "two employees of a transportation company were injured," the army's Southern Command said in a statement, without giving further details.

"We are assessing the extent of the damage to the power station," said Odessa city mayor Gennady Trukhanov.

In the nearby region of Micolaive, another power plant was also hit, causing a fire that was later brought under control by firefighters, the Ukrainian army said.

In total, the Ukrainian Air Force intercepted 14 of the 17 Iranian-made Shahed explosive drones launched by Russia in the early hours of the morning and shot down two Kh-59 missiles, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The Kiev forces claim that the shots were fired from Moscow, towards the Micolaive region and the port of Odessa. No casualties were reported, but the energy infrastructure in Micolaive was damaged, causing a power cut for several hours.

In a message posted on the Telegram social network, Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk revealed that Russia had also launched two Iskander-K and one Iskander-M missiles, but did not specify whether the attacks had been intercepted.

For its part, the Russian army said it had destroyed five Ukrainian drones this morning over the Bryansk border region.

Russia has been bombing Ukraine's energy infrastructure for several weeks, particularly in the northeast around Kharkiv, the country's second largest city, but also in other regions, leading to large-scale power cuts.