What is this missile that lit up the sky over Dnipro before dawn on Thursday? The question remained on the lips of observers of the war in Ukraine on November 21, after kyiv accused Moscow of having fired an intercontinental ballistic missile devoid of nuclear warhead at the country's third city. “Today our crazy neighbor once again showed what he really is,” stormed the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. On the other hand, Moscow initially neither confirmed nor denied what would be the first use in history of this weapon designed to carry nuclear fire to the other side of the planet.
The mystery was resolved in the evening, when Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian television. “ Our engineers called it Orechnik “, declared the Russian president, affirming that the projectile would be a new medium-range ballistic missile. With a closed face, the head of state denounced the recent American and British missile attacks carried out by kyiv against Russian territory. “ The conflict provoked by the West in Ukraine has taken on the elements of a (conflict) of a global nature “, he affirmed, adding that Russia considered itself within its right to “ use our weapons against the military installations of countries that authorize the use of their weapons against our installations ».
This speech, and the ballistic missile strike on Dnipro, certainly demonstrate a rise in tensions, following the authorization given to kyiv on November 17 by the United States to strike Russian territory with American missiles. Ukraine has been demanding for many months that this geographical restriction be lifted in order to be able to bomb Russian bases, ammunition stocks and command posts, but also the airfields from which planes carrying out raids against Ukrainian cities take off.
Review of Russian nuclear doctrine
For its part, Russia had issued several warnings against authorizing these missiles capable of striking up to 300 kilometers away, which it considers a new step in the involvement of Western countries in the war. By playing on two registers: the threat of a nuclear response, and that of a geographical extension of the conflict to NATO countries. On September 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin had ” propose “ changes to Russian nuclear doctrine that would theoretically allow retaliation for strikes “massive” missiles, including against nuclear powers which would offer their assistance to these conventional strikes.
The US authorization to attack targets on Russian territory, which Washington has long balked at, appears to have been precipitated by the unprecedented deployment of thousands of North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region. Ukraine did not hesitate, and quickly fired American ATACMS missiles on the Bryansk region. British Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the United Kingdom, and which London had previously not authorized for use against Russian territory, have also been used in recent days.
Commenting on the firing of a ballistic missile on Dnipro, a US official interviewed by AFP said Russia was seeking to “Intimidate Ukraine and the countries that support it by using this weapon, or to attract attention, but this will not change the situation in this conflict.” This tension is also part of a context marked by Donald Trump's victory in the American presidential election. The business tycoon, who will take office at the end of January, has promised to quickly conclude the war through negotiations.
In the event that talks were to open, both Russia and Ukraine want to approach them from the most favorable position, which explains the rise in tensions and the violence of the current fighting. According to British intelligence, more than 1,500 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded daily since the beginning of November.
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Antipersonnel mines for Ukraine
New American military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 275 million dollars was announced Wednesday, November 20 by Washington.
In addition to ammunition for artillery systems and various equipment, it also includes antipersonnel mines, the sending of which is justified by the need to “slow down” the acceleration of Russian troops on the ground.
Biden administration works to dispatch to Ukrainebefore Donald Trump takes office, military aid amounting to six billion dollars, the remainder of the 61 billion package voted by Congress in the spring of 2024.
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