Alleged threat of intercontinental ballistic missile attack on Ukraine. What does the government say?

The US embassy was the first to suspend work, as there is a risk of a massive air attack. Later, the embassies of Greece, Spain and Italy were added to this list. Public broadcaster Suspilne, referring to its own sources in the US diplomatic mission, writes that the institution suspended its work precisely because of the threat of combined attack on Ukraine using missiles and drones, and not because of changes in the nuclear doctrine of the Russian Federation.

Meanwhile, various Telegram channels write that Russia can hit Ukraine with an intercontinental ballistic missile RS-26 "Rubezh", which has a range of up to 6,000 kilometers, and the mass of its warhead reaches 1,200 kilograms, which is equivalent to almost three Iskander-M ballistic missiles.

How does the government react to these rumors?

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the NSDC, states that the Russians have long been preparing for aerial attacks in the cold season, and they have various types of missiles in their arsenal. Now, according to Kovalenko, they are trying to stir up panic amid the closing of embassies.

"What should Ukrainians do in this situation? After three years of large-scale attacks, and also now knowing about Russia's presence of missiles and plans to attack Ukraine and infrastructure, Ukrainians already understand the situation — you need to plan your time and prepare safe places for yourself in case of an [air raid] alert," said the official.

Kovalenko also stressed that the plans of the Russians are known to the Defense Forces, and therefore "there is and will be a countermeasure."

At the same time, hromadske sources in military circles claim that the use of an intercontinental ballistic missile to strike Ukraine seems unlikely, since Russia has enough other means for air attacks. In addition, this missile is quite long-range, so its use seems impractical.

Previous mass attack on Ukraine

Overnight on November 16 and the following morning, the Russians attacked Ukraine with all available types of weapons, including ballistic, cruise, and air-to-air missiles. The DTEK thermal power plants came under enemy fire, and the power equipment suffered serious damage as a result of the attack.

Explosions were heard in a number of cities of Ukraine, in particular in Kyiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, and Rivne. As a result of the attack on Mykolaiv, two people died. There are also those who died as a result of Russian attacks in Odesa and Lviv Oblast. Two Ukrenergo workers died in Odesa Oblast.

In total, the enemy launched 120 missiles and 90 drones over Ukraine. Air defense neutralized 144 aerial threats.