close
close

Ukraine says Russia deployed an intercontinental ballistic missile. That would be a first in the history of war

Posted on by Lucas
Ukraine says Russia deployed an intercontinental ballistic missile. That would be a first in the history of war

According to a Ukrainian Air Force report, Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. This was a non-nuclear attack, although intercontinental ballistic missiles are the typical delivery vehicles for nuclear weapons. If true, this will be the first time in military history that a nation has used an ICBM. It is also possible that it was not an ICBM at all, but a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile, or IRBM.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian missile was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region and traveled more than 435 miles to hit its target in Dnipro. Ukrainian media reports that the specific missile used was an RS-26 Rubezh, a medium-range intercontinental ballistic missile. But that is still unconfirmed.

“Today our crazy neighbor once again revealed his true nature – his contempt for dignity, freedom and human life itself. And most of all, fear,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on Today it was a new Russian missile. Its speed and altitude suggest intercontinental ballistic capabilities. The investigation is ongoing.” After this story was first published, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council told NPR that Russia had fired an “experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile” and not an ICBM.

In a strange piece of Russian political theater, Moscow Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took a phone call during a live briefing with the press. A loud male voice could be heard on the phone and the microphones in the room picked it up. In it, Zakharova was instructed not to talk about the rocket launch.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles, if such, are synonymous with nuclear weapons, but can carry a conventional payload. Nazi rocket scientists developed early versions of the weapons during World War II. During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union developed these weapons as a means to transport a nuclear weapon across the planet and attack their enemies without bringing a bomber or other aircraft near the target. Today, both the United States and Russia are covered in silos housing nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. America is on track to spend nearly $2 trillion modernizing its arsenal over the next few years.

The Russian missile launch comes two days after Kiev attacked Russia with a US-supplied ATACMS missile. President Biden previously blocked Ukraine from attacking targets deep inside Russia, but recently lifted the restriction. Russia said the use of the weapons represented an escalation of the war.

Also this week, Russia unveiled a revised doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons. Moscow has been careful to highlight the changes in recent weeks, but experts say it is no more worried than is usually the case. “Russia has changed its written policy regarding the conditions under which it would use nuclear weapons, but I do not believe that these changes represent a break in the continuity of Russia’s previous nuclear weapons policy,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said in a post on X. “Same wine, new bottle.”

“It is clear that Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground. It is also clear that he is afraid of normal life next to him. A life in which people live with dignity. “A country that wants to be free and has the right to independence,” Zelensky said. “Putin will do everything to prevent his neighbor from slipping away from him. And I thank all Ukrainians – men and women alike – who are defending Ukraine from this evil with resilience, bravery and strength. With dignity. Would. It is one of the defining words for Ukraine. And it is a word that will probably never be used about Russia again.”