Russia attacked Ukraine with a missile that prompted Trump to withdraw from the nuclear treaty - Reuters
Kyiv • UNN
Russia used the 9M729 cruise missile against Ukraine, which led to the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. In recent months, 23 launches of this missile, which can carry a nuclear or conventional warhead, have been recorded.
In recent months, Russia has attacked Ukraine with a cruise missile, the secret development of which prompted US President Donald Trump to withdraw from a nuclear arms control treaty with Moscow during his first term as US President, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
"Andriy Sybiha's comments are the first confirmation that Russia has used the 9M729 ground-launched missile in combat – in Ukraine or elsewhere," the publication says.
"Russia has launched the missile at Ukraine 23 times since August," a second senior Ukrainian official told Reuters.
"Ukraine also recorded two 9M729 launches by Russia in 2022," the source said.
Because of the 9M729 missile, the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. Washington stated that the missile violated the treaty and could exceed the established range of 500 km, although Russia denied this.
The missile, which can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, has a range of 2,500 km, according to the Missile Threat website, created by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
According to a military source, "the 9M729 missile launched by Russia on October 5 flew more than 1,200 km to the impact site in Ukraine."
Russia's use in recent months of 9M729 missiles, prohibited by the INF Treaty, against Ukraine demonstrates Putin's disrespect for the United States and President Trump's diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
He told Reuters that Kyiv supports Trump's peace proposals and that Russia must face maximum pressure to push it towards peace, stating that strengthening Ukraine's long-range firepower will help convince Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine has called on Washington to provide it with Tomahawk long-range missiles, which were not prohibited by the INF Treaty, being at that time only sea-based. Russia has already stated that this would allegedly be a dangerous escalation.
"The issue of European security"
"The use of the 9M729 missile expands Russia's arsenal of long-range weapons for striking Ukraine and fits a pattern in which Moscow sends threatening signals to Europe at a time when Trump is seeking a peaceful settlement," Western military analysts believe.
"I think Putin is trying to increase pressure within the framework of negotiations on Ukraine," said William Alberque, a senior research fellow at the Pacific Forum think tank, adding that the 9M729 missile is designed to hit targets in Europe.
Last week, Russia tested the Burevestnik cruise missile with a nuclear propulsion system, and on Wednesday announced the testing of a nuclear-powered torpedo called Poseidon.
The White House did not respond to specific questions about Russia's use of the 9M729 missile. On Thursday, Trump ordered the US military to resume nuclear weapons testing, citing "other countries' testing programs."
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After the US withdrew from the INF Treaty, which banned ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 km, Russia declared a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles. The West stated that Russia had already deployed several 9M729 missiles, the publication writes.
"On August 4, shortly before the use of missiles in Ukraine, Russia stated that it would no longer limit the locations of INF missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads," the publication says.
"If Russia is proven to be using INF missiles in Ukraine, which could easily be nuclear, then this is a matter of European security, not just Ukraine," said John Foreman, a former British military attaché in Moscow and Kyiv.
Missile fragments
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not provide details or dates of the 9M729 missile strikes.
A senior official said that "they began on August 21 - less than a week after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska."
Reuters examined photographs of debris after a Russian attack on October 5 "more than 600 km from Russian territory." "The images show that two missile fragments, including a pipe with cables, were marked 9M729," the publication writes.
Jeffrey Lewis, a distinguished scholar of global security at the Middlebury Institute, examined the photographs with analysts.
He said that the pipe, engine, and its casing matched his expectations of what a 9M729 would look like, and the markings made the match even more likely.
Russia has various missiles capable of reaching Ukrainian territory, including the sea-launched Kalibr and air-launched Kh-101, but, according to Lewis, the 9M729 has somewhat different characteristics.
"This somewhat changes the attack directions, which complicates air defense, and expands the arsenal of missiles available to the Russians," Lewis said.
The INF Treaty prohibits ground-launched missiles because launchers are mobile and relatively easy to conceal.
Douglas Barrie, a senior research fellow in military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said Russia could use the 9M729 missile to strike from ground-based launchers from safer locations deep within Russian territory.
Russia also benefits from testing the system in combat conditions in Ukraine, although 23 uses imply a military purpose, Barrie said.