Ukraine Says Russia Used an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. That Would Be a First in the History of War

Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic rocket (ICBM) astatine the Ukrainian metropolis of Dnipro, according to a study from the Ukrainian Air Force. This was a non-nuclear onslaught though ICBMs are the emblematic transportation conveyance for a atomic weapon. If it’s true, this is the archetypal clip immoderate federation has utilized an ICBM successful the past of war. It’s besides imaginable that this wasn’t an ICBM astatine all, but a caller benignant of medium-range ballistic rocket oregon IRBM.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian rocket was launched from the Astrakhan portion of Russia and flew much than 435 miles to onslaught its people successful Dnipro. Ukrainian media outlets are reporting that the circumstantial rocket utilized was an RS-26 Rubezh, a medium-range ICBM. But that’s inactive unconfirmed.

“Today, our insane neighbour has erstwhile again revealed its existent nature—its disdain for dignity, freedom, and quality beingness itself. And, astir of all, its fear,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said successful a station connected X. “Fear truthful overwhelming that it unleashes rocket aft missile, scouring the globe for much weapons—whether from Iran oregon North Korea. Today, it was a caller Russian missile. Its velocity and altitude suggest intercontinental ballistic capabilities. Investigations are ongoing.”

In a unusual spot of governmental theatre successful Russia, Moscow’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman—Maria Zakharova—took a telephone telephone during a unrecorded briefing with the press. A large antheral dependable was audible connected the phone, the microphones successful the country picked it up. It told Zakharova not to speech astir the rocket launch.

In a caller "can't marque this crap up" . moment, Maria Zakharova gets a telephone during her unrecorded presser today, and you tin perceive a antheral dependable archer her to not remark the ICBM launch.
Is this different Moscow4 moment, oregon is it a staged poker bluff meant for the West? pic.twitter.com/d3MUB9YKF4

— [email protected] (@christogrozev) November 21, 2024

ICBMs, if that’s what it was, are synonymous with atomic weapons, but they tin transportation a accepted payload. Nazi rocket scientists developed aboriginal versions of the weapons during World War II. During the Cold War, some the United States and the Soviet Union developed the weapons arsenic a means to transportation a atomic limb crossed the satellite and onslaught their enemies without placing a bomber oregon different craft adjacent the target. Today, some the United States and Russia are covered successful silos that location atomic ICBMs. America is connected way to walk astir $2 trillion implicit the adjacent fewer years to upgrade its arsenal.

The Russian rocket motorboat comes 2 days aft Kyiv struck Russia with a U.S.-supplied ATACMS missile. President Biden antecedently prevented Ukraine from hitting targets heavy wrong Russia but precocious lifted the restriction. Russia said that the usage of the weapons represented an escalation of the war.

Also this week, Russia unveiled a revised doctrine astir the usage of atomic weapons. Moscow made definite to item the changes successful caller weeks, but experts person said they’re not much disquieted than they typically are. “Russia has changed its written argumentation regarding the conditions successful which it would usage atomic weapons, but I don’t deliberation these changes correspond a interruption successful continuity from past Russian atomic weapons policy,” Jeffrey Lewis, a manager astatine the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said successful a station connected X. “Same wine, caller bottle.”

“It’s wide that Putin is utilizing Ukraine arsenic a investigating ground. It’s besides wide that helium is terrified of mean beingness adjacent to him. A beingness wherever radical unrecorded with dignity. A state that wants to beryllium escaped and has the close to beryllium independent,” Zelenskyy said. “Putin volition bash thing to support his neighbour from slipping retired of his grasp. And I convey each Ukrainian—men and women alike—who support Ukraine from this evil with resilience, bravery, and strength. With dignity. Dignity. It’s 1 of the defining words for Ukraine. And it’s a connection that volition apt ne'er again beryllium spoken astir Russia.”