Russia’s ballistic missile attack on Ukraine was an alarming first

The Oreshnik missile launched on Tuesday appeared to have taken off from Russia’s Kapustin Yar missile base, about 800 kilometers from Dnipro, far from the area of ​​intense fighting.

This was the first time IRBMs were used in combat. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, ratified by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1988, banned ground-launched IRBMs. The US withdrew from the treaty in 2019 under Trump’s first administration, citing Russia’s non-compliance. At the time, US officials noted that China, which was not a signatory to the treaty, possessed more than 1,000 IRBMs in its arsenal.

Putin said Western air defenses were not capable of destroying Oreshnik missiles in flight, although this claim could not be verified. He said Russia would issue warnings to Ukraine against similar missile attacks in the future to allow civilians to escape dangerous areas.

Mr. Putin said the Oreshnik missile strikes its target at a speed of up to Mach 10, equivalent to 2.5 to 3 kilometers per second. “Existing air defense systems around the world, including those being developed by the US in Europe, cannot intercept such missiles.”

A global war?

In perhaps the coldest part of his remarks, Putin said the conflict in Ukraine was “on a global scale” and said Russia had the right to use missiles against Western arms suppliers. for Ukraine to use against Russian targets.

“In case of escalation, we will react decisively and appropriately,” Putin said. “I advise the ruling elites of countries planning to use military force against Russia to seriously consider this.”

The change in nuclear doctrine authorized by Putin earlier this week also lowers the threshold allowing Russia to use nuclear weapons to counter a conventional attack that threatens Russia’s “territorial integrity.”

This seems to have happened already. Ukraine launched an offensive on Russia’s Kursk region in August, taking control of more than 1,000 square kilometers of Russian land. Russian forces, with support from the North Korean military, are conducting a counteroffensive to try to retake the territory.

Singh called Russia’s invitation to the North Korean military an “escalation” and said Putin could “choose to end this war today.”

American officials say Russian forces are suffering about 1,200 deaths or injuries each day in the war. In September, the Wall Street Journal reported that US intelligence sources estimated that about one million Ukrainians and Russians had been killed or wounded in the war.

The United Nations Human Rights Office most recently reported that 11,973 civilians have been killed, including 622 children, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“We warned Russia in 2022 not to do this and they still did it so there will be consequences,” Singh said. “But we don’t want to see this escalate into a broader regional conflict. We do not seek war with Russia.”

This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.