Putin stops bluffing: Russia fires first long-range missile at Ukraine
Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine for the first time. This was a long-range missile without a nuclear warhead fired from Astrakhan near the Caspian Sea at Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, some 1,100 kilometers away. With this, Putin in turn now appears to be taking a step toward complete escalation of the conflict.
The intercontinental ballistic missile is capable of detonating a nuclear payload on several targets. To be clear, the missile that Putin had launched toward Dnipro did not contain a nuclear payload, but of course it carries a clear warning. This time Putin is opting for a conventional payload, but what's next?
According to Ukrainian media, this was an RS-26 Rubezh type missile, which has a range of 5,800 km and can carry an 800 kg warhead.
(FVDV for Tagtik/Source: Reuters - Belga/Picture: Andy Cat for Unsplash