Russia issued a nuclear warning: expert assessed the missile strike on the city of Dnipro

The strike on Dnipro was a nuclear warning, regardless of the missile’s range.

This opinion was expressed by nuclear expert Fabian Hoffman from the University of Oslo in a comment to CNN.

According to him, the main difference between an intercontinental ballistic missile and other types of missiles lies only in the significantly greater range. However, the more important factor is the missile’s payload.

The missile that struck Dnipro carried a MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle) payload—a warhead with multiple warheads for striking individual targets. This type was developed during the Cold War to deliver multiple nuclear warheads to different targets, Hoffman explained.

“MIRV technology is exclusively associated with nuclear missiles. There are no conventional missile systems in the Russian arsenal that possess this technology. Therefore, regardless of the missile’s range, the message remains tied to the nuclear threat,” Hoffman said.

It is worth recalling that today it was reported that Russia used an intercontinental ballistic missile in Ukraine for the first time. It struck Dnipro, where, according to a former advisor to the President’s Office, the “Yuzhmash” plant was hit.

Soon, Vladimir Putin will make a video statement, explaining that the “Oreshnik” missile was used in the strike.

Thirty minutes before the launch of the new medium-range “Oreshnik” missile into Ukraine, Russia informed the U.S. about it in an automatic mode via the nuclear risk reduction center, said Dmitry Peskov.