The country led by Putin has used for the first time in history an intercontinental missile, specifically the RS-26 Rubetzh, one of the most powerful weapons in the Russian nuclear triad, against the civilian population, as announced this Thursday by the Ukrainian Air Force. The missile flew for fifteen minutes and carried with it several explosive warheads, each equipped with six submunitions, detailed the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GRU).
“Today a new missile was used. Its speed and altitude suggest intercontinental ballistic capabilities. Investigations continue,” said the Ukrainian head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky, through social networks.
The launch was carried out from Astrakhan, in the Caucasus, located 1,000 kilometers away, and reached the city of Dnipro, in central Ukraine, at the same time it hit a Kinzhal hypersonic missile and seven cruise missiles. This is the Kremlin’s response to the missile attacks by the US, the United Kingdom and France against Russian soil that occurred this week.
“Ukraine is the first country in the world against which an intercontinental ballistic missile is used,” lamented the Communications Center of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Telegram and ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).
Russia, for its part, declared that He hopes that the United States has understood the “message.” “The main message was that the reckless decisions and actions by Western countries that manufacture missiles, deliver them to Ukraine and thereby participate in attacks against Russian territory cannot go without a reaction from Russia,” the Kremlin spokesman warned. , Dimitri Peskov, in a statement. “It is a response to the use of American and British long-range weapons against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin finally settled.
Features of the RS-26 Rubetzh
It is a long-range weapon, so Its use against such a close region does not make much sensewhich suggests that it is a Russian warning, given the recent information about the permission of Western weapons against Russian soil announced by the United Kingdom, France and the United States. For now, it is unknown how Ukraine will respond to these attacks.
Regarding its characteristics, this missile stands out for having a payload of 800 kilograms and for having a range of 6,000 kilometers (so it could perfectly reach Spain). Additionally, it has been designed as a nuclear weapons system and can carry one to four warheads independently. The Moscow University of Military Policy MGIMO stated that Each of the missile’s four nuclear warheads can have an explosive yield of 300 kilotons.
