Seems like a bit of a waste to launch an intercontinental missile at a country next door, on the same continent. Isn't Russia supposed to have plenty of short and mid range ballistic missiles? I guess they must be running low.

I was under the impression that ICBMs weren't all that great for conventional warheads. Their payload capacity isn't enormous and their accuracy tends to be relatively low- which matters not a jot if you're firing nukes (which do a lot of bang per kilo, and where a few hundred metres either way isn't likely to be critical), but not so great for dropping normal munitions.

[–] Streetlights@lemmy.world 24 points 7 months ago

I suspect the use of an RS-26 was meant to serve as a provocation/response to the recent ATACMs strikes.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Launching just one sounds like the primary purpose is for messaging, not taking out whatever single target. They want to remind Europeans that they aren't safe just because they live far away. The west has been getting numb to the constant threats of using nuclear weapons. I believe this launch is to give those threats more weight again.

The US will no longer be a threat to Russian ambitions come January. Expect an urgent fear campaign to get the rest of NATO to no longer want to stick their necks out for Ukraine.

[–] nexusband@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Nah, we're not numb. But the fact of the matter is, we can't change anything and letting him win is not going to work, because what's the alternative? Being subjugated or attacked at a later state?

Putin should not forget however, that "we", the EU, also have Nukes and will retaliate, if push comes to shove. Those threats are meaningless either way.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Yeah this is far more a matter of there being a line. Putin has been aggressive towards nato and the eu for a long time. He’s currently invading countries when they get closer to us and cracking down on his own citizens’ rights. It’s clear he won’t stop with Ukraine. He can rattle his saber all he wants. If he fires a nuke France alone can destroy all of Russia that matters, and that’s assuming his fuckery with the US stops us from doing our duty to MAD and NATO.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 7 points 7 months ago

This missile is only "Intercontinental" if you launch it from the edge of a continent. It's got about 6000km of range, which is a lot, but these are obviously meant for use in Europe. They were probably thinking of London and Paris when designing them though.

[–] logos@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

These missiles are designed with Western Europe in mind. Specifically, to deter them from coming to help Eastern Europe.

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

IMHO they might be just making a threat this way. Kremlin folks think that's the way diplomacy works. See, we've launched a missile that can be used to send nukes. That's our very subtle and diplomatic warning. We both understand what that means, yes? Let's look very smart and diplomatic.

They may think that looks cool.

[–] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 3 points 7 months ago

It was to send a message similar to how the Iranian drone attack on Israel in April was to send a message that they can launch a bunch of $2,000 drones and cause Israel to have to launch $2 million missiles and aircraft to take them out.