Staff Correspondent
KYIV, Nov. 21, 2024 – Ukraine has reported that Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, with the missile suspected to be an RS-26 Rubezh, according to Ukrainska Pravda, citing anonymous sources. However, defense experts have raised doubts about the exact missile used, noting that accurately assessing the weapon based on available imagery remains difficult.
Ballistic missiles, including ICBMs, are rocket-propelled, self-guided weapons that descend toward their targets using gravity. An ICBM is characterized by its long range, exceeding 5,500 km (3,420 miles). While the RS-26 Rubezh is classified as an ICBM under the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, it is sometimes also considered an intermediate-range missile when carrying heavier payloads.
ICBMs travel at speeds of several kilometers per second. A missile launched from Russia would take about 40 minutes to reach a target in the United States, while the 700 km distance to Dnipro from Russia’s Astrakhan region would take less than 10 minutes.
Although ICBMs are typically designed to carry nuclear warheads, there has been no indication that this particular missile was armed with a nuclear payload. The RS-26 Rubezh, first successfully tested in 2012, has a range of up to 5,800 km. Weighing 36 tons and measuring 12 meters in length, it can carry an 800-kg nuclear warhead, although it has never formally entered service.
