Vladimir Putin fired the ‘secret’ Novator ground-launched 9M729 missile in Ukraine, threatening a new nuclear arms race.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia has been the weapon, the secret development of which prompted Donald Trump to walk out on a nuclear arms control pact with the Kremlin his first term.
His comments are the first confirmation that Russia deployed the 9M729 missile in combat – either in Ukraine or anywhere else.
He warned: ‘Russia’s use of the INF-banned 9M729 against Ukraine in the past months demonstrates Putin’s disrespect to the US and president Trump’s diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.’
The missile has a range of about 1,550 miles and can carry either a nuclear or a conventional warhead, according to the Missile Threat website.
This means it can reach most Nato nations in Europe, including the UK.
It is understood that Russia has fired the missile at Ukraine 23 times since August, according to a second senior source cited by Reuters.
Ukraine also recorded two launches of the 9M729 by Russia in 2022, they added.
The 9M729 led the US to quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019 over claims it is in breach of the treaty and could fly beyond its limit of 310 miles – a major issue for European security.
Russia denied this.
Use of the 9M729 expands the Kremlin’s arsenal of long-range weapons for striking Ukraine and fits its threatening pattern of it sending signals towards Europe as Trump seeks a peace settlement, Western military analysts said.
‘I think Putin is trying to ramp up pressure as part of the negotiations,’ said William Alberque, a senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum think tank, adding that the 9M729 was designed to hit targets in Europe.
Russia tested its nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile last week, and on Wednesday said it had tested a nuclear-powered torpedo named Poseidon.
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