Russia fires Rubezh ballistic missile at Ukraine: expert explains range and what Ukrainians should prepare for

On the morning of November 21, Russia fired a missile at the Dnipro River with a previously unknown missile. Aviation expert Konstantin Krivolap suggested that it could have been either an RS-26 Rubizh or some other kind of munition.

With such actions, the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin wanted to scare both Ukraine and other Western countries. Like, "I do what I want, I do what I want, I shoot where I want." Kryvolap commented on the incident in an interview with OBOZ.Talk.

"It is a fact that we are unfamiliar with the missile. This is the first thing. Next, the characteristics of this missile, the RS-26 Rubizh, state that these missiles fly on a ballistic trajectory. All intercontinental ballistic missiles are two- or three-stage - like a normal spacecraft of the 80s and 90s," the analyst said.

Such missiles rise very high, and then, approaching the target, enter the lower layers of the atmosphere and at this distance they split. Russia expects that its intercontinental ballistic missiles will be able to reach both Europe and America if necessary.

"So, this RS-26 missile, according to its characteristics, let's say, its passports, from what we are told in cartoons, [flies] 6 thousand kilometers. At this range, it should have a minimum range of 2,000 kilometers (there was such information). But from Kapustyn Yar, from which the launch was allegedly made, to the Dnipro is only 800 kilometers. And this is the first thing that causes misunderstanding," Kryvolap pointed out the strange moment.

The RS-26 Rubezh is a development of the ideology of the RS-24 Yars missile, which, in turn, is a development of the Topol.

The actual strike is carried out not by a single charge, but by several Rubezh units.

"So, judging by what is available on the networks about the defeat of Dnipro, there were at least six falls. I wouldn't say it was a missile hit because there are no explosions, it just falls down, just a fire and that's it. But there is no such powerful explosion, nothing like that.

What could it be? It is possible that the fission units did not work, did not initiate, this is the first thing. Secondly, we don't know how many of these blocks are there, because the information is classified and we can't find out. And the third thing is where the second and third stages of this rocket will go," the expert asked.

If the first stage falls near the launch site, and the second stage flies about 100 kilometers, then with such a short distance between Kapustyn Yar and Dnipro, it is not clear where it happened.

"And I assume that maybe what fell were warheads with the fragments of the second stage of the missile. It's just a guess. We can't even say for sure whether it was an RS-26 or not. It is very difficult to say," the aviation expert said.

Kryvolap believes that with the new way of shelling Ukraine, Putin wanted to say not even to us, but to the rest of the world that "I have adopted a new doctrine, this new doctrine allows me to do whatever I want, to shoot where I want."

When asked what Ukrainians should prepare for, he said: "There are many factors that are difficult to predict, difficult to cover everything. It will take time for this to become clear. There is a lot of uncertain information."

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

– On the morning of November 21, Russia launched a combined missile strike on Dnipro. The Ukrainian Air Force said that the occupiers launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, an X-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missile and seven X-101 missiles. The defenders of the sky shot down six X-101s.

– On Thursday evening, Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin made an address in which he said that his army had launched a new medium-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, at a Ukrainian city.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!