Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine early Wednesday morning, in line with the Ukrainian Air Power Command.
The missile, fired at 5 a.m. from the Kapustin Yar take a look at vary within the Astrakhan area, reportedly focused town of Dnipro, particularly the “Pivdenmash” aerospace plant.
The Ukrainian Air Power reported that the assault concerned warheads from the a number of independently targetable reentry automobile (MIRV) of an ICBM, although the precise missile kind has not been confirmed.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the missile launch, condemning it as an try by Russia to make use of Ukrainian territory as a laboratory for brand new weapons. “Russia is treating Ukraine like a testing floor,” Zelensky stated, underlining the broader implications of such an assault.
❗ Сьогодні вночі росіяни, як заявили у @KpsZSU, вперше вдарили по Україні міжконтинентальною балістичною ракетою середньої дальності.
На відео зафіксований ранок 21 листопада у Дніпрі. pic.twitter.com/DR5bLyzbHC
— Повернись живим (@BackAndAlive) November 21, 2024
Specialists are at the moment analyzing fragments to find out the traits and specs of the missile used. A second missile launch was reported from the identical Kapustin Yar website at roughly 3 p.m., however no additional particulars have been launched.
A number of sources point out that the weapon concerned could have been a RS-26 missile, referred to by NATO as SS-X-31. The RS-26 is a extremely secretive, cellular ICBM system, with little publicly obtainable data concerning its capabilities.
The event of the RS-26 missile reportedly started within the early 2000s, with the primary take a look at launch occurring in September 2011. Unconfirmed studies recommend the missile has a launch weight of roughly 40-50 tons and is able to delivering as much as 4 warheads over a spread of two,000 to six,000 kilometers. The launch automobile for the RS-26 is believed to be the Belarus-made MZKT-79291 chassis.
These assaults come amidst continued tensions within the area, elevating vital issues over Russia’s increasing army methods and use of superior strategic weaponry within the battle. The deployment of an ICBM—even in a non-nuclear configuration—has sparked issues amongst protection analysts about potential escalations and the message that Russia intends to ship to each Ukraine and the worldwide neighborhood.
For the primary time, an intercontinental ballistic missile hit a European metropolis as we speak.
These missiles will not be designed for civilian areas.
The Kremlin simply to cowl it up at a press convention. As a result of even they know this appears to be like disgraceful.
What occurred in Dnipro is precise… pic.twitter.com/YgAJlo7A3D
— Caolan (@CaolanRob) November 21, 2024
The “Pivdenmash” plant, often known as the Southern Machine-Constructing Plant, is a major industrial facility in Ukraine, traditionally concerned in aerospace and missile manufacturing. The focused strike has raised issues about additional harm to Ukraine’s protection manufacturing capabilities and Russia’s continued focusing on of strategic property inside Ukrainian territory.
