This is a show of force from Vladimir Putin. Thursday, November 21, Ukraine denounced a Russian strike on the city of Dnipro. Ukrainian authorities initially suggested it came from an “intercontinental ballistic missile without a nuclear warhead.” Information corrected by a senior American official, who then described an “experimental medium-range” missile. While later in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed responsibility for the firing of a new medium-range missile. “Our engineers called it ‘Orechnik’.” L'Express takes stock of the latest information about this “new” missile.
A new version of the RS-26 Rubezh?
The new missile was experimental and Russia likely had only a handful, U.S. officials said, reports The Guardian. According to initial observations by experts, the missile was fired with a conventional warhead, but it appears that Moscow could modify it. “It could be refitted to carry different types of conventional or nuclear warheads,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. This type of missile, regularly tested by Russia, is better known under the name MIRV (Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicle). The weapon carries a series of warheads that can each target a specific location, allowing a ballistic missile to launch a larger attack.
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The US military also said that the Russian missile design was based on the design of Russia's long-range RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the development of which was halted in 2018. “It is not yet known what it is”, wrote on his X account Fabien Hoffman, war specialist and researcher in the nuclear program at the University of Oslo. “I would be surprised if Russia managed to manufacture (such a device) without relying at least 90% on existing designs and without cannibalizing parts of the RS-26 (or another missile).” Nick Brown, of the British private intelligence company Janes, stressed to AFP that the abandonment of the development of the RS-26 “was never officially confirmed and that it was able to continue under the radar “. Even if it means giving it a new name, a common method in the world of war industry, as soon as a new development appears.
A range theoretically less than 5,000 kilometers
U.S. and British sources said the missile fired at the Dnipro was believed to be an experimental nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), with a theoretical range of less than 5,500 kilometers. Where it was taken from, in southwest Russia, is enough to reach western Europe, but not the United States, notes The Guardian. According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a medium-range missile can travel between 1,000 and 3,000 kilometers, reports the American channel CNN.
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In this case, the missile traveled 700 kilometers between the Astrakhan oblast from where it was fired and Dnipro. According to The Kyiv Independantan industrial enterprise was damaged and two fires broke out in the city. A rehabilitation center for people with disabilities was damaged in the attack. Tom Karako, director of the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told CNN that this was likely the first time a MIRV had been used in combat. A new turning point in the war? This missile “will change neither the course of the conflict nor the determination of NATO allies to support Ukraine,” said a spokesperson for the Atlantic Alliance on Thursday. Its use comes in any case as the war in Ukraine, which marked its 1000th day on Tuesday, appears to be entering a new, more dangerous phase, after the United States and the United Kingdom accepted at the start of the week that the Ukraine uses their long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.
