Conflict Intensifies: Russia Deploys ICBM in Ukraine for Initial Attack
It seems like the current Biden administration is pushing for a potential World War III before they hand over the reins, with their latest move being a provocation that's set Putin off and left a leftover mess for the incoming Trump administration to tackle. However, traditionally, departing administrations don't make such a ruckus on their way out. Could this be part of the war theatre?
ZeroHedge News reported that, for the first time since the multi-year conflict, Russia has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) aimed at the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. This upgraded aggression follows Ukraine's use of U.S.-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and British Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets deep within Russia. Russia's resort to ICBMs showcases its increased capabilities in response to Ukraine's long-range missile strikes.
According to a senior Ukrainian military official, Russia launched an ICBM named "RS-26 Rubezh" with a range of 3,700 miles and a capacity to hit any European capital. Although the RS-26 Rubezh can be armed with either a thermonuclear warhead or an Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, Thursday's attack on Dnipro's region employed a non-nuclear conventional warhead instead.
Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, believes that using ICBMs conventionally doesn't make sense because of their relatively low accuracy and high cost. However, he adds that such a strike may have symbolic value.
Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, asserts that the ICBM strike on Ukraine was a message to Kyiv's Western backers. He believes this week's escalations, including the Biden-Harris administration's approval for Ukraine to use ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles to target Russian military installations, might have triggered Russia's retaliation.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin reduced the threshold for nuclear weapons use. He suggested that the use of Western non-nuclear rockets by the Ukrainian military against Russia could prompt a nuclear response.
In light of the Biden-Harris administration's decision to provoke Russia with the deployment of ATACMS and British missiles, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has been shut down "due to an abundance of caution." Goldman's Ece Kekepci commented on the situation:
"There's a real geopolitical risk premium now as Ukraine/Russia following a series of escalations. Europe has given up its early rally yday on the back of further missile attacks (early this morning "Ukraine says Russia Fired ICBM"). Off ramps not obvious, but this is not a new conflict, and you're supposed to fade geopolitical escalation. Sentiment has come down quite a bit."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, "It's a very dangerous position that the outgoing administration is taking," adding, "There is a new escalation happening."
It's clear that the Biden-Harris administration was well aware of the repercussions of their actions, yet they went ahead with their provocative moves against Russia. Time will tell if Democrats' endgame was to start World War III before Trump takes office.
- The use of non-nuclear ICBMs by Russia in the Dnipro region might symbolize a message to Ukraine's Western backers, particularly the Biden-Harris administration, suggesting an increased tension in the war-and-conflicts realm, as reported by Malcolm Davis.
- The U.S. Embassy's sudden closure in Kyiv due to "an abundance of caution" could imply that the Biden-Harris administration anticipates the escalating general-news events in the region, notably the deployment of ATACMS and British missiles, to potentially lead to further conflicts.
- Pavel Podvig's view that using conventionally-armed ICBMs doesn't make sense due to their high cost and low accuracy could be questioned given the strategic and symbolic value these actions may hold in the current complex political landscape, as seen in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflicts.
