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US Officials Say Russia Didn't Fire ICBM At Ukraine, But A 'New' Intermediate-Range Miss

• https://www.theburningplatform.com, Via ZeroHedge

US officials are saying it appears to be a new intermediate-range ballistic missile and not an ICBM which targeted the central city of Dnipro

The NY Times has reported in follow-up of the attack that "several Western officials said that the weapon was not an ICBM and instead was likely an intermediate-range missile that flies shorter distances."

Zelensky himself had claimed Russia used a new class of missile. "All the parameters — speed, altitude — match those of an intercontinental ballistic missile," he said. "All expert evaluations are underway." But US defense officials are contradicting this:

A senior U.S. official said the weapon appeared to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile, adding, "But it is a new type we have been tracking."

US officials have also called it an "experimental" missile. There's also been some quibbling among experts are how to characterize the projectiles which were observed hitting Ukraine at incredibly high rates of speed, in terms of rocket size and distance.

Assuming Washington is correct, and that it wasn't an ICBM, this suggests Zelensky's hasty verdict is all about threat inflation coming at a time he's desperately trying to get the West's attention, arguing in favor of greater NATO military intervention against Russia.

Ukraine's Air Force Command says that Russia has, for the first time in the multi-year war, launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) targeting the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. This unprecedented escalation follows Ukraine's recent use of US-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and British Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets deep within Russia. The use of an ICBM is Russia demonstrating its greater capabilities in response to Ukraine's long-range missile strikes.


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