The strike on Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers’ office on Sunday was likely not carried out by a Shahed drone – but an Iskander-K cruise missile whose warhead failed to detonate.

The missile – part of Russia’s largest aerial assault to date – struck the building of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada in central Kyiv, damaging the parts hosting the offices for the Cabinet of Ministers.

According to Defense Express, citing its own sources, the government building in central Kyiv was hit by a 9M727 cruise missile of the Iskander tactical complex during Russia’s large-scale combined long-range attack in the early hours of Sept. 7.

The 450kg warhead of the missile did not explode, as confirmed by an analysis of the fragment, the report said. Instead, the fire that broke out on the upper floors was caused by the ignition of the missile’s fuel tanks.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force Command, Russia launched nine Iskander cruise missiles in the attack, four of which were intercepted. The 9M727 is one of three missile types designed for the Iskander system, alongside the 9M728 and 9M729.

Commonly referred to as “Iskander-K” or R-500, the 9M727 is believed to be a ground-launched variant of the 3M-14 Kalibr. The Russian military has used it frequently against Ukrainian cities, including in a 2023 strike on a drama theater in Chernihiv.

Defense Express wrote that, like many Russian weapons, the missile incorporates Western-made microelectronic components sourced from civilian markets – many of them produced in China. The outlet added that if the warhead had functioned properly, the destruction would have been far greater.

On Monday, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova also said the weapon that struck the Cabinet of Ministers was not a Shahed drone – but mistakenly described the weapon as an Iskander ballistic missile.

“Putin knows exactly what he is doing. The Iskander ballistic missile that hit the Cabinet of Ministers building was aimed exactly there – at the very heart of the Ukrainian government,” she wrote, publishing photos of the wreckage on.