CNN: Russia breaks Cold War deterrence doctrine with multiple warhead missile strike on Dnipro

Russia’s deployment of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile with multiple warheads in Ukraine targeting Dnipro City marks the first combat use of such a weapon system in history, according to experts.

The strike on Dnipro on 21 November 2024 utilized a Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) missile carrying conventional warheads, CNN reports. Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, confirmed to CNN that“it’s the first time MIRV has been used in combat.”

Videos from the November 21 strike showed multiple warheads falling at different angles on their targets, CNN reports. Each warhead would require an anti-missile rocket to defeat it, creating a daunting challenge even for advanced air defense systems.

Earlier this morning, multiple Ukrainian Telegram channels shared this footage showing the Russian ICBM strike on Dnipro.

It shows multiple warheads hitting the city, but those probably were without explosives, as the footage and minimal damage suggest. pic.twitter.com/UjeOCf8KqK

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) November 21, 2024

CNN emphasized that such ballistic missiles have traditionally underpinned deterrence through “mutual assured destruction” in the nuclear age. MIRVed missiles may invite rather than deter a first strike, as it’s easier to destroy multiple warheads before launch than to intercept them during descent at hypersonic speeds, according to the report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia had carried out the strike with what he called an “Oreshnik” missile, describing it as a “ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic warhead.” According to Putin, the attack was a response to Ukraine’s use of US and British-French long-range weapons.

“We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities,” Putin claimed, referring to Ukraine’s use of US-made ATACMS missiles and British-French Storm Shadow systems.

The Pentagon described Putin’s remarks as “dangerous, reckless rhetoric,” CNN says. According to both the Kremlin and Pentagon, Russia notified the United States about the launch through the National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center 30 minutes before the launch.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the new weapon “a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war,” while Ukraine’s foreign ministry asserted the country’s “full right under international law to hit any legitimate military targets in the territory of Russia” with long-range missiles.

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