Russia Pulled Nuclear-Capable ICBM Launch: Report

Newsweek

19-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Russia pulled a "combat training" launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) after something "went wrong," according to Ukrainian intelligence.
Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) said Sunday that Moscow planned to conduct "combat training" launch of its RS-24 Yars, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can be armed with nuclear warheads.
It was expected to launch from a site near the village of Svobodny in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia, but "everything indicates that the launch simply did not happen," reported Defense Express, a Ukrainian outlet that specializes in military news.
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment by email.
Why It Matters
If the test launch failed, it would serve as an embarrassing setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In September 2024, his feared Satan 2 nuclear arsenal was reported to have failed four out of five missile tests.
An RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system drives across Red Square during Russia's Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2025.
An RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system drives across Red Square during Russia's Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2025.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images
What To Know
The GUR claimed that the missile launch was ordered to be conducted by the crew of the 433rd regiment of the 42nd division of the 31st Army of Russia's strategic missile forces with the purposes of intimidating Ukraine, the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states.
It added that the flight range of the three-stage solid-propellant rocket is more than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles).
But "everything indicates that it simply did not happen," Defense Express reported.
According to the publication, the launch, if it happened, would most likely have been filmed or photographed by locals and subsequently shared on social media.
"The Russians would also have been able to observe the missile flying," the publication said.
"Given that the main Russian test site for intercontinental missiles is Kura in Kamchatka, this missile would have been visible over a large area of Siberia and the Far East, from Khanty-Mansiysk to Magadan. But no video of it has been published."
The publication added: "Why the Russians did not launch remains unknown."
Russian authorities didn't respond to the GUR claim, which Newsweek couldn't independently verify.
What People Are Saying
Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence, in a statement on Sunday: "In order to demonstratively pressure and intimidate Ukraine, as well as EU and NATO member states, the aggressor state Russia intends to carry out a 'combat training' launch of the RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile from the Yars complex on the night of May 19, 2025."
What Happens Next
Putin and President Donald Trump spoke by the phone on Monday as the U.S. leader continued his faltering efforts to broker peace talks in the war.