By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
The USA believes that Russia fired a never-before-fielded intermediate-range ballistic missile on Thursday in its assault on Ukraine, an escalation that analysts say may have implications for European missile protection.
The U.S. navy stated the Russian missile’s design was based mostly on the design of Russia’s longer-range RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The brand new missile was experimental and Russia seemingly possessed solely a handful of them, officers stated.
Ukraine’s air pressure initially stated the missile was an ICBM, sparking worries of a significant escalation within the 2-1/2-year-old conflict.
Whereas launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) sends a much less threatening sign, the incident may nonetheless set off alarms and Moscow notified Washington briefly forward of the launch, U.S. officers stated.
The Pentagon stated the missile was fired with a traditional warhead however added that Moscow may modify it if it needed.
“It could possibly be refitted to actually carry various kinds of typical or nuclear warheads,” stated Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised handle, acknowledged Moscow had struck a Ukrainian navy facility with a brand new ballistic missile and stated it was referred to as “Oreshnik” (the hazel).
Jeffrey Lewis, a non-proliferation skilled on the Middlebury Institute of Worldwide Research in California, stated Putin had earlier hinted that Russia would full the event of an IRBM system after Washington and Berlin agreed to deploy long-range U.S. missiles in Germany from 2026.
“The RS-26 was all the time (a) prime candidate,” Lewis stated.
Singh stated the brand new variant of the missile was thought-about “experimental” by the Pentagon.
“It is the primary time that we have seen it employed on the battlefield … In order that’s why we think about it experimental,” she stated.
Timothy Wright, on the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research, stated Russia’s growth of recent missiles could affect selections in NATO nations concerning what air protection techniques to buy in addition to which offensive capabilities to pursue.
A brand new U.S. ballistic missile protection base in northern Poland has already drawn indignant reactions from Moscow. The U.S. base at Redzikowo is a part of a broader NATO missile protect and is designed to intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Nonetheless, Putin stated Thursday’s launch of the brand new IRBM was not a response to the bottom in Poland however as a substitute to latest Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russian territory with Western weapons.
After approval from the administration of President Joe Biden, Ukraine struck Russia with U.S.-made ATACMS on Nov. 19 and with British Storm Shadow missiles and U.S.-made HIMARS on Nov. 21, Putin stated.
Moscow stated it focused a missile and protection agency within the Ukrainian metropolis of Dnipro, the place missile and area rocket firm Pivdenmash, generally known as Yuzhmash by Russians, is predicated.
Russia, he added, was growing brief and medium vary missiles in response to the deliberate manufacturing after which deployment by the USA of medium and shorter vary missiles in Europe and Asia.
“I consider that the USA made a mistake by unilaterally destroying the treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles in 2019 underneath a far-fetched pretext,” Putin stated, referring to the Intermediate-Vary Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
The USA formally withdrew from the 1987 (INF) Treaty with Russia in 2019 after saying that Moscow was violating the accord, an accusation the Kremlin denied.
This text was produced by Reuters information company. It has not been edited by International South World.
