Long-range missiles The war in Ukraine enters the next round of escalation
Long-range Western cruise missiles are said to have attacked Russia for the first time. Kiev, in turn, accuses Moscow of using an intercontinental ballistic missile. Both sides are talking about escalation.
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- Russia and Ukraine have fired new long-range missiles at each other.
- Kiev has attacked Russian territory for the first time with bunker-busting Storm Shadow cruise missiles and allegedly hit a command center in Kursk Oblast.
- Russia has fired at least one RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
- Military observers speak of a warning shot in this context, but also of a possible dress rehearsal.
- Russia and the West are accusing each other of escalating the situation.
The war of aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine has entered a new dangerous phase with the use of long-range missiles by both sides against each other.
The Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced that it had intercepted two Storm Shadow cruise missiles fired by Ukraine. This would be the first time since the start of the war that cruise missiles supplied by the UK have been used against targets in Russia.
"Two British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, six US-made Himars reactive projectiles and 67 drones were shot down by the air defense system," the Russian military said in a statement. There was no information on impact or damage.
Storm Shadow allegedly hits command center
British media had already reported on the attack the previous day, citing unnamed insider sources. According to the report, debris from the cruise missiles was found in the village of Marjino in the Russian region of Kursk, almost 45 kilometers from the border.
At the same time, Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov wrote on Telegram that two missiles had been fired - but did not give any details about their type. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that a joint Russian-North Korean command point had been attacked and destroyed.
However, the Ukrainian General Staff has not confirmed this information. Moscow is not expected to admit to a critical hit anyway. British Defense Secretary John Healey also avoided the question of whether Storm Shadow had been used. He would not comment on operational details of the conflict, he said
Russia is said to have fired an intercontinental ballistic missile
Instead, the Briton criticized Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the defence committee, accusing him of escalation. He had massively intensified the air attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks and sent thousands of North Korean soldiers to the front.
"And there are unconfirmed media reports today that Russia has fired a new ballistic missile at Ukraine, which we understand they have been preparing for months," said Healey. Healey's criticism referred to a statement by the Ukrainian air force according to which Moscow had used an intercontinental ballistic missile in its attack on Ukraine.
The target was the industrial city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine. According to official reports, however, there were no casualties. The BBC later reported, citing anonymous sources, that there were doubts in the White House about the version of an intercontinental missile and that it could be a medium-range missile with a range of between 800 and 5500 kilometers.
Selenskyj: Putin uses Ukraine as a weapons test site
An RS-26 Rubezh was allegedly used. Its maximum range is said to be 6000 kilometers: it is effectively the little sister of the RS-24 Jars, which was put into service in 2010 and can fly up to 12,000 kilometers. In a nuclear emergency, the Rubezh would probably be the weapon with which Europe would be attacked.
President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the case on the occasion of the anniversary of the start of pro-Western protests eleven years ago - the Euromaidan: "All the characteristics - speed, altitude - are those of an intercontinental missile," he said. The investigations are ongoing, he added. "It is obvious that Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground," emphasized Selenskyj.
Meanwhile, unauthenticated videos circulating on social networks showed bright pieces falling over a city at night without subsequent explosions. It was assumed that this could show six empty warheads of the intercontinental ballistic missile used.
Russia does not comment on missile deployment
The missile, which is in principle also capable of carrying nuclear weapons, is said to have been fired from the Russian region of Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea - around 1000 kilometers from the impact site in Dnipro. In this context, military observers spoke of a warning shot, but also of a possible dress rehearsal for a real nuclear strike.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not want to comment on the use of the intercontinental missile claimed by Ukraine. Russia is doing everything it can to avoid a nuclear war, he said. At the same time, Peskov accused the West of escalation. The outgoing US administration under President Joe Biden was irresponsible and was doing everything it could to pour oil on the fire and further fuel the conflict, he said.
The Kremlin had already voiced similar accusations when US-made ATACMS missiles were allegedly used for the first time against an ammunition depot in the western Russian region of Bryansk at the beginning of the week. According to reports, Biden has agreed to the use of long-range weapons against Russia in order to send a signal to North Korea, which is believed to have sent soldiers into the conflict alongside Russia.
Moscow holds supplier countries accountable
ATACMS and Storm Shadow are long-range weapons. The Kremlin has warned against their use over Russian territory. These missiles could only be operated by Western military personnel, Putin claimed in October. Accordingly, the use of these weapons would be seen by Moscow as direct participation in the war by the relevant states.
Russia recently softened its nuclear doctrine in this context. This means that Russia could also use nuclear weapons if the country is attacked by a state without nuclear weapons, which in turn is supported by a nuclear power.
Ukraine is in its third year of defending itself against Russia's war of aggression. President Volodymyr Selensky has been asking for a long time to be able to deploy more far-reaching weapons from Western partners on Russian territory. The reason given was that this would be decisive for the course of the war. However, experts doubt that the long-range missiles can help Ukraine to victory.
