What is known about the Russian ‘experimental’ ballistic missile that Putin launched against Ukraine?

The United States believes Russia fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile never before used in its attack on Ukraine on Thursday. An escalation that, according to analysts, could have implications for European anti-missile defenses. This is what is known so far about the missile.

What type of ballistic missile is it?

According to the US military, the design of the Russian projectile is based on that of the Russian RS-26 Rubezh long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The new missile appears to be experimental and Russia may only possess a handful of them, according to sources.

The Pentagon has said the missile was fired with a conventional warhead, but that Moscow could modify it if it wanted.

“It could be retrofitted to carry different types of conventional or nuclear warheads,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

Jeffrey Lewis, a nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously hinted that Russia would complete development of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) system after Washington and Berlin will agree to deploy long-range US missiles in Germany starting in 2026.

Singh said that the new variant of the missile was considered “experimental” by the Pentagon: “It is the first time we have seen it used on the battlefield (…). That’s why we consider it experimental.”

American and British sources indicated that they believed the missile fired in Dnipro was an experimental nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which has a theoretical range of less than 3,420 miles (5,500 km). This is enough to reach Europe from where it was shot, in southwestern Russia, but not the United States.

The Ukrainian air force initially said the missile was an ICBM.

Although the launch of an IRBM could send a less threatening signal, the incident could set off alarms and Moscow decided to notify Washington before the launch, according to US sources.

Will the Russian attack affect NATO?

Timothy Wright of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said Russia’s development of new missiles could influence NATO countries’ decisions about which air defense systems to acquire and which offensive capabilities to pursue.

A new US ballistic missile defense base in northern Poland has already provoked angry reactions from Moscow. The US base at Redzikowo is part of a broader NATO missile shield and is designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.

However, Putin stated that the launch of the new IRBM this Thursday was not a response to the Polish base, but to recent long-range Ukrainian attacks inside Russian territory with Western weapons.

Following approval by President Joe Biden’s administration, Ukraine attacked Russia with U.S.-made ATACMS on Nov. 19, and with British Storm Shadow missiles and U.S.-made Himars on Nov. 21, Putin said.

What has Vladimir Putin said about the new missile?

The Russian president acknowledged in a televised address to the nation that Moscow had attacked a Ukrainian military facility with a new ballistic missile, saying it was called Oreshnik (the hazelnut).

He said its deployment “was a response to US plans to produce and deploy short- and intermediate-range missiles,” and that Russia would “respond decisively and symmetrically” in the event of an escalation.

Moscow said its target was a missile and defense company in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, where the Pivdenmash space rocket and missile company, known as Yuzhmash to Russians, is based.

Putin stated that Russia was developing short- and medium-range missiles in response to the United States’ production and subsequent deployment of medium- and short-range missiles in Europe and Asia.

“I think the United States made a mistake by unilaterally breaking the treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles in 2019 under an absurd pretext,” the Russian president said, referring to the treaty on intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF). .

The United States formally withdrew from the 1987 treaty (INF) with Russia in 2019 after claiming that Moscow was violating the agreement, an accusation the Kremlin denied.