The use of Storm Shadow after the approval of ATACMS strikes on Russian regions, “was a matter of time and this is indicated by the found fragments of British ammunition in the Kursk region, as well as information about the interception of two more during the approach to Yeysk” according to Russian military intelligence analysts publishing in the social sphere.
According to these sources, the Ukrainian armed forces “continue to launch Western long-range missiles in salvos at individual targets to increase the probability of their destruction. That is, apparently, there is no talk of accumulating reserves for the next media offensive”.
And they continue to state: “at the same time, the number of both ATACMS and Storm Shadow/SCALP among Ukrainian formations is quite limited. And it’s not just about supply volumes: first of all, it’s about the current production capacities of Western production facilities.”
According to comments posted in the social sphere stream: “However, it is equally foolhardy to hope that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will simply run out of these missiles and the threat will disappear by itself. It is very likely that the West will supply components for the expansion of production of Neptune and other long-range missiles in the so-called territory. Ukraine. So, in any case, it will not be possible to “sit” in passive defense, and the issue can only be resolved by military measures, which are extremely clear to the sponsors of the Kiev regime.”
Meanwhile, again from Russian sources, there is a clarification on the attack on Dnipro on November 21, which would be the Russian response, or rather Moscow’s warning to Kiev. According to OSINT deep web sphere, “Russia launched a single RS-26 Rubezh road-mobile missile at a target in Dnipro, Ukraine (Dnipropetrovsk).”
According to Ukrainian authorities, the missile struck an unnamed industrial enterprise. It should be recalled that Dnipro is home to the Pivdenmash (formerly Yuzhmash) missile production plant.
In the comment channels written by military analysts, it is written: “The analysis of images of the attack indicates that the RS-26 carried six independent warheads, each of which deployed several submunitions in turn. This package of warheads is intended exclusively for conventional strikes.” According to them, Russia had never previously considered – before the green light to the use of long-range weapons for Kiev – the possibility of equipping the RS-26 with a warhead of this type.”
By presenting the conventionally armed RS-26, Russia is changing the qualitative nature of the conflict, as promised by President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine and its Western allies must now assess the destructive potential of this weapon and understand that Russia can launch this warhead at any target in Ukraine or Europe knowing that there is no defense against it.
Russian sources say that “the RS-26 is produced in Votkinsk. Production of the RS-26, which was halted in 2017, is estimated to have resumed last summer. With an estimated production rate of 6-8 missiles per month, Russia could have amassed an arsenal of 30 to 40 RS-26 missiles.”
Although described as an ICBM, the range of the RS-26 actually depends on the warhead package. “When armed with a single warhead, it can exceed the 5,000-kilometer threshold used to distinguish between intermediate-range and intercontinental-range missiles. The RS-26 was not mass-produced because of this ambiguity; at the time, Russia was a signatory to the INF Treaty, which banned intermediate-range missiles. It is believed that the package of six conventional warheads used against the Dnipro would have put the RS-26 used in the intermediate range of the classification.”
Donald Trump withdrew from the INF Treaty in 2019. Had the United States remained in the treaty, this version of the RS-26 would not have been available for use by Russia.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
