Russia has broken a Cold War arms treaty by firing its intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) called the "Oreshnik" against Ukraine, targeting its southern central city of Dnipro, which is a first for the aggressor. This also serves as a warning to the Western countries that are helping Ukraine in their war against Russia, especially to President Joe Biden and the United States.
This week, the escalation of attacks was seen from both sides when Ukraine fired for the first time against its neighboring country after receiving approval from the United States to utilize the longer-range missiles supplied to them.
Russia 'Oreshnik' Ballistic Missiles Attacks Ukraine's Dnipro
A new report from Ars Technica revealed the successful attack by Russia against Ukraine, using its Oreshnik ballistic missiles for the first time in a "combat situation" to lay waste to the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Russia targeted Dnipro as it serves as home to an industrial plant operated by PA Pivdenmash which is known for manufacturing parts for the Zenit rocket's booster stages from the Soviet era and Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket.
There have been multiple posts circulating on social media that show how Russia's new Oreshnik missiles struck the city of Dnipro last Thursday which came after Ukraine launched an attack against Moscow for the first time.
Putin Warns the West, US in Their Help to Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare appearance on television where he released a statement against the Western countries that were helping Ukraine in their fight and then commanded the launch against Dnipro.
The reports revealed that Russia's Oreshnik is an "experimental" intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), with the Pentagon's deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh regarded that it was based on Moscow's RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.
However, it is not a regular IRBM from Russia, as it was also reported that the Oreshnik can be fitted with nuclear warheads in the future. These new ballistic missiles can remain undetected and give only limited warning of an impending attack.
Russia and Ukraine's Ongoing Conflict
The tensions are still high between the two neighboring countries of Russia and Ukraine as the aggression continues from the larger country as the invasion plans continue for Moscow against Kyiv. There have been prominent attacks from Russia which severely damaged Ukrainian energy infrastructure last August when it launched 127 missiles and 109 drones after Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov also recently boasted of Russia's success in using AI drones against its enemies, especially on the frontlines against Ukrainian forces, which marks a new era of warfare. Lesser troops are being deployed by Russia because of this significant effort, but Minister Belousov also highlighted the need to train more of its drone pilots to use the technology more precisely.
That being said, Ukraine has also recently revealed that it upped its game on drone warfare against Russia, but this put a massive target on their soldiers' heads if the enemy discovers that they are drone operators. Ukraine drew first blood for the first time earlier this week thanks to the US and UK's missiles, but Russia is ready with its best-kept technology since the previous wars, using Oreshnik for the first time in combat which also serves as a warning against Ukrainian allies.
