Kyiv sounds alarm as Russia prepares to launch RS-26 ICBM

Ukrainian media outlets report that the Russian Armed Forces are preparing to launch an RS-26 intercontinental ballistic missile from Kapustin-Yar in the Astrakhan region.

Photo: armyinform.com.ua by Владислав Демьяненко, CC BY 4.0

Russian Geran loitering munitions were launched from the Kursk region towards Ukraine.

The Kyiv authorities raised alarm after warnings of a massive Russian airstrike from the US Embassy.

Ukrainian observers claim that the Russian Aerospace Forces have significantly increased the number of Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers at bases in the European part of the country. Another 18 were spotted at bases near Ukraine, bringing the total to 29 aircraft.

Details

The RS-26 Rubezh (in Russian: РС-26 Рубеж) (frontier or boundary, also known under the name of its R&D program Avangard Авангард) SS-X-31 or SS-X-29B (another version of SS-27), is a Russian solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile, equipped with a thermonuclear MIRV or MaRV payload. The missile is also intended to be capable of carrying the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. The RS-26 is based on RS-24 Yars, and constitutes a shorter version of the RS-24 with one fewer stages. The development process of the RS-26 has been largely comparable to that of the RSD-10 Pioneer, a shortened derivative of the RT-21 Temp 2S. Deployment of the RS-26 is speculated to have a similar strategic impact as the RSD-10. After an initial failure in 2011, it was first test-launched successfully from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on May 26, 2012, hitting its target at the Kura Range 5,800 km away minutes later. Further successful tests were performed from Kapustin Yar to Sary Shagan in 2012 and 2013. In 2018, however, it was reported that development of the RS-26 had been frozen until at least 2027, with funding diverted toward continued development of the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle.