Two US officials verified to AWN on Thursday that the Russian “experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile” (IRBM) launched at Ukraine was not hypersonic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the strike in a national address Thursday evening, saying it was in direct response to the United States and the United Kingdom agreeing to Ukraine’s deployment of Western-supplied long-range missiles to target Russia.
Putin and US sources have now confirmed that the hit did not use an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), but the Kremlin head has also stated that the weapon employed posed a substantial danger to Western nations.
During a news briefing on Thursday, Deputy Pentagon news Secretary Sabrina Singh acknowledged that Russia had launched an IRBM based on one of its ICBM variants. She sometimes referred to the IRBM as “experimental,” adding that it was the missile’s first use on the battlefield.
“This was a new type of lethal capability that was employed on the battlefield, so that’s certainly a concern to us,” Singh remarked.
She also stated that the United States was briefly told about the launch via nuclear or risk reduction channels.
Still, Singh told reporters that the Department of Defense has noticed no change in Russia’s nuclear posture, nor has the United States made any modifications to its own.
According to a translation, Putin stated that the missile targeted targets at Mach 10.
“That’s 2.5 miles per second,” Putin explained. “The world’s current air defense systems and the missile defense systems developed by the Americans in Europe do not intercept such missiles.”
Despite Putin’s claim, two US defense sources informed AWN that the missile was not hypersonic, which NASA defines as a speed greater than 3,000 mph or faster than Mach 5.
Singh told reporters that the only escalation in Russia’s war with Ukraine was when the former attacked a sovereign border country and turned to North Korea for approximately 11,000 soldiers to fight against Ukraine.
Following President Biden’s decision this week to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) against Russia, Kyiv launched strikes on a military arsenal in the Russian region of Bryansk, more than 70 miles from Ukraine’s border.
While Ukrainian troops officially fired the sophisticated missiles, the weapons system still relies on US satellites to hit its target, a point Putin brought up in his surprise speech Thursday.
“We are testing the Oreshnik missile systems in battle settings in reaction to NATO’s aggressive measures against Russia. We will decide on the future deployment of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles based on the activities of the United States and its satellites,” he said.
Putin said that Russia will notify Ukrainian civilians of an impending attack similar to the one he carried out on Thursday, although it is unclear whether he warned Ukrainians residing in Dnipro.
The Kremlin official said the “defense industry” was targeted, although photographs supplied by the Ukrainian Ministry of military showed what looked to be civilian infrastructure caught in the crossfire.