Stepped-up fighting in Ukraine is prompting criticism from the team around President-elect Donald Trump that the Biden administration is stoking problems with the Kremlin in its waning days in office

 

"Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West against further escalation after Moscow fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads at Ukraine for the first time.

On Thursday, Putin said Russia used a new type of missile, called Oreshnik, to strike a major Ukrainian defense plant. The missile, which carried a conventional, nonnuclear warhead, appeared to have greater range and speed than previous weapons Russia has used in the conflict, said weapons experts.

Putin, speaking on television, said Russia has the right to use its weapons on other nations that allow their weapons to be used against Russia. Moscow warned of a response to Ukrainian strikes against its territory using long-range Western arms this week, including U.S.-made ATACMS and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

"If anyone doubts that we're ready for any development, then they're mistaken," Putin said.

In Washington, U.S. officials called the missile a new intermediate-range experimental model, one that was fired by Moscow as part of its continuing effort to deter the West from helping Ukraine.

"This is signaling," said a senior administration official, who added that Moscow has few of the new type of missiles in its arsenal. "This is not something that is particularly jarring. Everyone knows that Russia has longer-range missile systems."

Moscow notified Washington of the missile firing in advance, U.S. officials said.

Stepped-up fighting in Ukraine is prompting criticism from the team around President-elect Donald Trump that the Biden administration is stoking problems with the Kremlin in its waning days in office. John Ullyot, a former National Security Council spokesman during Trump's last presidency, said Wednesday that President Biden is pushing the U.S. to the brink of war with Russia by arming Ukraine with long-range missiles and antipersonnel mines.

"We've got two months going in this administration," said Ullyot. "President Trump has said he is going to ramp this war down. Why are we provoking the Russians and then having a tit-for-tat?"

While U.S. officials didn't provide details of the new system, military analysts said it might be a modified version of the RS-26, which has been test flown just above 5,500 kilometers, which is the technical definition of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Ukraine used the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, for the first time this week to hit an ammunition-storage facility in Russia's Bryansk region. Ukraine fired 10 British Storm Shadow missiles for the first time on Wednesday, striking in the Kursk region.

On Tuesday, Putin signed changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine that lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike, in a long-anticipated move that appeared timed to send a warning to the West over providing long-range missiles to Kyiv.

Video posted online from Ukraine early Thursday appeared to show several warheads striking targets in quick succession, and in proximity to each other -- something analysts say is characteristic of an intercontinental- or intermediate-range missile. The video was verified by Storyful, which is owned by News Corp, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal.

Both intermediate-range and intercontinental-range missiles can carry several warheads called Multiple Independently-Targetable Re-entry Vehicles, known as MIRVs, capable of striking various targets independently to limit the number of launches needed to cause maximum damage.

Thursday's launch came as part of a Russian barrage that included nearly a dozen ballistic and cruise missiles.

Thursday's strike appeared to be targeted at the Yuzhmash plant, which is officially called Pivdenmash. The Dnipro facility is a famed rocket-engine construction plant that the U.S.S.R. used to revive its defense industry in the 1950s. A hub for the Soviet ballistic-missile industry for decades, it was considered so strategic that the entire surrounding city was closed to foreigners." [1]

1.  World News: Russia Fires New Missile at Ukraine --- Intermediate-range ballistic missile appears to have more range, speed: experts. Luxmoore, Matthew; Lytvynenko, Jane; Cullison, Alan.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 22 Nov 2024: A.6.