An "experimental" Russian ballistic missile fired at the city of Dnipro had several warheads. This is the first use of such a weapon in the war, CNN reports , citing two American officials and one Western official, writes UNN.
Details
It is noted that this type of missile is known as a Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV), it carries a series of warheads, each of which can target its own target, allowing one ballistic missile to carry out a large-scale attack with the defeat of many targets.
MIRVs were developed during the Cold War to deliver multiple nuclear warheads in a single launch.
The United States also has this type of missile, the Minuteman III, an intercontinental ballistic missile armed with MIRVs.
According to the newspaper, the Russian missile that hit the Dnipro was not armed with nuclear warheads, but it was designed to deliver nuclear weapons, not to launch conventional weapons.
On Thursday, Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said this was the first use of an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile "based on" the Russian model of the RS-26 Rubizh missile, although Singh did not name the specific type of missile or its capabilities.
Tom Caraco, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said this is the first time the MIRV has been used in combat.
In the past, MIRVs were "exclusively for nuclear warheads, and anything more tactical is single or cluster munitions,
Recall
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry documented Putin's statement about the use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine. The statements will be used as evidence of the crime of aggression to bring him to justice.