https://www.youtube.com/live/8ZgHplFIY3I?si=mFAdRgGEr0ihj4dW
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Posted on 11/21/2024 8:39:56 AM PST by Navy Patriot
Russia did not use an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, two Western officials told Reuters, contradicting the official account from Ukraine.
The Western officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the assessment was based on initial analysis and left open the possibility that conclusion could change.
ICBMs are strategic weapons designed to deliver nuclear warheads and are an important part of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
It was just weather balloons, igniting swamp gas.
I very much doubt the Rooskies would use an ICBM to hit a target less than a thousand miles away. More likely, they were intermediate range missiles, much like the ones Pres. Reagan put in Europe all those many years ago.
Would they cover up a bad decision made by Biden’s handlers? You bet.
Russia does not have any conventionally armed ICBMs, let alone MIRVs, and there are enough independent observers out there that would have detected a nuclear detonation. For that matter, an ICBM would have shown up on civilian space tracking radar. ICBMs are very large, very obvious missiles that are impossible to hide the launch of.
Dnipro is well within range of the existing SRBM systems that Russia has, like the 9K720 Iskander (NATO name SS-26 Stone) tactical missile system. The Iskander has been a surprising missile since the original deployment in the conflict - among other things, it can release decoys when under threat and there is some evidence that the thing can even conduct it’s own electronic warfare against systems attempting to shoot it down.
Another nasty surprise is that the latest version of the missile has an optical seeker head. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if the Russians came up with a version that has multiple warheads a la MIRV (but they aren’t MIRVs because the missile doesn’t go high enough to exit the atmosphere let alone re-enter) - the Iskander’s not just a dumb SCUD replacement and the Russians really appear to have been putting thought and effort into it. *Known* warhead options include cluster, fuel air, high explosive, high explosive blast frag, bunker buster, EMP, and of course tac nuke. There are thought to be more that we haven’t seen yet and Russia doesn’t even offer most of the known warhead types for export.
Interesting. Military Summary Channel this morning had video appearing to show MIRV’s hitting the target, for what that’s worth. Four strikes, each with maybe 6 warheads. The video wasn’t very good (thumbnail size), but it seems consistent with a MIRV interpretation.
Ukraine lied? I’m shocked to hear that. Again.
Well there’s video and it sure looks like MRVs to me.
It would be pretty easy to build a conventional warhead in a MIRV case and stick it on top of an ICBM. Why Russia would want to do that is arguable, but it’s technically simple to do.
When does the Ukraine NOT lie?
As soon as I saw “ICBM” I was skeptical. As we all know, it means Intercontinental Ballistic Missile — special emphasis here on “Intercontinental”. They’re designed to fly 8,000 miles, not 400. They’re large rockets that carry a ton of hypergolic fuel. It would be a supreme waste to use one on any country so near. I’m not sure that such a rocket could even manage such a short trajectory.
Probably an intermediate range missile. No reason to use an ICBM for such a short distance.
If the Russians launched an ICBM, it would have showed up on IR surveillance satellites, and we could currently be a DEFCON 1.
It was an MRBM (medium range ballistic missile) according to Putin.
Putin admits striking Ukraine with an intercontinental ballistic missile
https://theins.ru/en/news/276481
According to Putin, Russia retaliated on Nov. 21 with a combined strike against a Ukrainian defense industry facility. In addition, “a field test was conducted in combat conditions” for one of Russia’s newest medium-range weapon systems: a nuclear-free hypersonic ballistic missile. “Our engineers named it ‘Oreshnik’ [‘Hazel’],” Putin declared with a smile.
https://www.youtube.com/live/8ZgHplFIY3I?si=mFAdRgGEr0ihj4dW
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Yes, but because ICBMs are so expensive, nobody (and I mean nobody) does that. It simply doesn’t make economic sense - and it doesn’t make military sense as everyone treats *any* ICBM launch as if they’re nuclear tipped.
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