New scale: Russia's strike with an intercontinental missile.

On the morning of November 21, Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at Dnipro. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin stated that it was a medium-range missile called Oreshnik. According to Putin, this was a response to the initial strikes by Western precision weapons on Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the Russian attack as the second recent step towards escalating the conflict following the deployment of troops from North Korea to the front lines.

What kind of missile is it

There is no information in open sources about a Russian missile named Oreshnik. However, it is known that the Kremlin regime often engages in "naming games," notes the Defence Express portal.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated that on November 21, Russia launched an experimental medium-range ballistic missile, the prototype of which is the intercontinental RS-26 Rubezh model. She mentioned that the U.S. received a warning prior to the launch.

“We informed Ukraine and our close allies several days in advance to help them prepare,” she noted.

According to analysts from Defence Express, by launching an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine for the first time, the Russians demonstrated their capability for a nuclear strike.

The RS-26 Rubezh medium-range intercontinental solid-fueled ballistic missile is one of the most elusive projects of the Russian military industry.

Its first tests reportedly took place back in 2011, but the official date for its adoption into service has been postponed from 2018 to 2027.

Official specifications of this missile, allegedly capable of carrying a nuclear payload, are unknown. It is estimated that its weight could be up to 50 tons, with a range of up to 6,000 kilometers.

Medium-range missiles were banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), signed in December 1987 by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. It concerned ground-based missiles that could cover distances from 500 to 5,500 km.

However, in 2018, NATO accused Russia of violating this treaty, and in 2019, under President Donald Trump, the U.S. officially withdrew from it. Russia followed suit shortly thereafter.

Where it hit

Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, Serhiy Lysyak, confirmed that as a result of the strike, an industrial enterprise in Dnipro was damaged. The specific facility has not been officially named. Additionally, the Russian strikes caused several other destructions in the city.

Media reports indicated that the target was the Yuzhmash plant. Putin did not mention this name but stated that “in the city of Dnipro, one of the largest and most well-known industrial complexes, which has been producing missile technology and other armaments since the Soviet era, was hit.”

Reaction

“This ballistic missile against Ukraine today is yet another proof that Russia has no desire for peace,” said Zelensky. “And Putin is lying when he claims that the use of long-range weapons by Ukraine represents some new step on our part. We have used this weapon before. And we have every right to do so under international law.”

Zelensky also urged the international community to respond decisively to Russia's actions, which, according to the Ukrainian president, is not happening at the moment.

“Currently, there is no strong reaction from the world. Putin is very sensitive to this. He tests you, dear partners,” Zelensky wrote. “He must be stopped. If there is no firm response to Russia's actions, it means they see this as permissible.”

Putin has already directly threatened NATO countries. “We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow the use of their weapons against our facilities,” he stated.

“Targets for destruction in the course of further tests of our latest missile systems will be determined by us based on the threats to the security of the Russian Federation,” concluded Putin.