Russia's missile move: Desperation or new military tactic?
Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile towards Ukraine for the first time. The missile landed near the city of Dnipro. Experienced Polish General Mieczysław Bieniek states that "it's an act of desperation on Russia's part." He also explains why the missile was not intercepted.
The intercontinental ballistic missile was launched during Thursday's shelling of Ukraine (22nd November). Vladimir Putin announced that it is the Oresznik hypersonic medium-range missile — a new development by the Russian army.
Former Ukrainian Nuclear Safety Minister Yuriy Kostenko explained that this missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and 1,500 kilograms of explosives. The missile's range is approximately 6,000 kilometres.
The attack was an expected response to Ukraine's use of Western ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles. Despite this, Gen. Mieczysław Bieniek believes the attack demonstrates how desperate the Kremlin is.
It was an act of desperation on Russia's part, says Gen. Bieniek in a conversation with "Fakt".
Enormous capabilities of the launched missile. Why wasn't it intercepted?
The difficulty may lie in detecting and intercepting this type of missile. Gen. Bieniek notes that the missiles are launched into the stratosphere. They also travel at high speeds.
It can carry up to 1,500 kilograms of explosives, weighing three times as much as Iskanders. Evidently, the anti-aircraft systems that Ukraine possesses were not able to detect and destroy it. The preparation and launch of a ballistic missile are monitored by reconnaissance satellites in space, but you also need an appropriate effector, something to counter the missile. And Ukraine apparently does not possess this capability. Or if it does, it was ineffective in intercepting the missile, explains Gen. Bieniek in a conversation with "Fakt".
The military official noted that the technology to detect and intercept ballistic missiles is possessed by NATO.
