Russia threatens Europe with strikes while gnawing at Ukraine’s east

The United States connected Tuesday provided the archetypal authoritative confirmation that its long-range Army Tactical Missiles (ATACMS) were successful usage successful Russia, arsenic Europe absorbed the ramifications of Russia’s retaliatory effect with an intermediate ballistic missile that could onslaught “anywhere successful Europe”.

As the question of strategical escalation swirled astir NATO capitals and Moscow, Russian forces continued a dogged beforehand done Ukraine’s eastbound Donetsk region, seizing much villages.

“Right now, they are capable to usage ATACMS to support themselves, you know, successful an immediate-need basis,” White House nationalist information spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “And close now, you know, understandably, that’s taking spot successful and astir Kursk, successful the Kursk oblast.”

In a alteration of communications tactics, the Russian Ministry of Defence, too, acknowledged Ukrainian ATACMS strikes.

Moscow authorities person often fudged Ukrainian rocket and drone hits, claiming “falling debris” from a destroyed incoming rocket has struck infrastructure and inflamed it.

(Al Jazeera)

But connected Tuesday Russia’s Defence Ministry acknowledged that ATACMS struck an S-400 aerial defence radar astatine Lotarevka connected Saturday and the Khalino airfield connected Monday. Both objects are astir 90km (560 miles) from Ukrainian front-line positions successful Kursk. Geolocated footage confirmed the hits.

The evident crushed for Russian acknowledgement is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s committedness to retaliate arsenic due erstwhile ATACMS oregon different long-range weapons are used. Britain and France person licensed Ukraine to occurrence 200km-range (120-mile) SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.

Russia fired a caller benignant of intermediate-range ballistic rocket astatine the cardinal Ukrainian metropolis of Dnipro past Thursday, successful retaliation against the archetypal ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes earlier successful the week.

The missile, dubbed Oreshnik and carrying six warheads, was aimed astatine a rocket and aerospace factory. Ukrainian officials said it caused nary superior damage.

(Al Jazeera)

In a tv code aft the Oreshnik strike, Putin threatened those European countries whose weapons were utilized against Russia: “We see ourselves entitled to usage our weapons against subject facilities of those countries that let their weapons to beryllium utilized against our facilities.”

“It tin deed targets passim Europe,” said Sergei Viktorovich, commandant of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces successful a staged gathering with Putin connected Friday.

In a much menacing tone, Putin suggested a clump of Oreshnik missiles would person the effect of a atomic weapon.

“Due to its striking power, particularly erstwhile utilized successful a massive, radical manner, and successful operation with different high-precision long-range systems that Russia besides has, the results of its usage against force targets volition beryllium comparable successful effect and powerfulness to strategical weapons.”

Can Russia occurrence galore of these missiles?

“We person a reserve of specified products, a reserve of specified systems acceptable for their use,” Putin said.

Vasily Petrovich, archetypal lawman president of the Military Industrial Commission, said the Oreshnik had been built “entirely connected Russian technologies”, adding that “the issues of import substitution person been resolved” and that Russia’s defence concern basal “allows for the serial accumulation of this benignant of weaponry”.

(Al Jazeera)

Non-Russian observers were not truthful sure.

Kyrylo Budanov, the caput of Ukrainian intelligence, told RBC-Ukraine that Russia did not person wide accumulation capacity.

“The rocket is experimental. We knew for definite that 2 prototypes were expected to beryllium made by October, possibly a small more. But this is simply a prototype,” Budanov said.

Oreshnik, which means hazelnut tree, was the codename for the probe programme that produced the missile, helium added. The rocket itself was called Kedr, oregon cedar.

Observers were besides unsure that the Kedr represented a caller Russian technology, arsenic Putin was anxious to suggest.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said it was based connected the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. Weapons analysts said it had been successful improvement “for immoderate time”.

Kedr warheads were susceptible of travelling astatine speeds of 2.5 to 3 kilometres (1 to 2 miles) per 2nd connected their last attack to their target, said Putin, making them intolerable to intercept with existing technologies. But Russia has utilized ballistic weapons connected Ukraine already.

The Kedr utilized connected Thursday was portion of a clump of missiles that included a Kh-47 Khinzal ballistic rocket and six Kh-101 cruise missiles.

Ballistic rocket warheads are precise hard to intercept due to the fact that of their terminal velocity and due to the fact that they are unguided successful their last stage, making them intolerable to jam oregon disorient utilizing physics warfare. They tin champion beryllium intercepted astatine the motorboat and ascent stages, but Budanov said the Kedr’s full formation lasted lone 15 minutes from motorboat to impact, leaving a precise tiny interception window.

(Al Jazeera)

Ukraine and Russia traded much accepted aerial attacks during the past week. Ukraine’s wide unit said their forces had struck a Russian lipid depot successful the Kaluga portion connected Monday. Russia launched a grounds fig of drones and missiles into Ukraine connected Tuesday, including 4 Iskander ballistic missiles and 188 drones.

Russia’s beforehand successful Donetsk was besides speeding up, according to an appraisal by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank.

“The frontline successful Donetsk Oblast is becoming progressively fluid arsenic Russian forces precocious person been advancing astatine a importantly quicker complaint than they did successful the entirety of 2023,” said the ISW.

Russian troops had accelerated their beforehand successful Ukraine and had efficaciously disrupted Kyiv’s 2025 subject campaign, Russian defence curate Andrey Belousov said past week.

Russian forces had reportedly seized a drawstring of villages northbound of Vuhledar, a municipality they had mislaid to past year’s Ukrainian counteroffensive but reconquered successful October, partially acknowledgment to the usage of Starlink outer connection terminals, which helped them to velocity up their counterbattery fire.

“Russian forces person importantly accrued the tempo of their advances successful the Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, Vuhledar, and Velyka Novosilka directions since September 1, having gained astatine slightest 1,103 quadrate kilometres (426 quadrate miles) successful these areas,” said the ISW, successful opposition with gains of conscionable 387 quadrate kilometres (150 quadrate miles) successful each of 2023.

The ISW assessed that Russian gains successful September averaged 14 quadrate kilometres a time (5.4 quadrate miles), but 22sq km (8.5 quadrate miles) a time since November 1.

This is inactive tiny compared with the 1,265sq km (448 quadrate miles) Russian troops seized per time successful March 2022, but it represented a notable summation comparative to the past 2 years.

(Al Jazeera)