We are no closer to nuclear war

By firing an intercontinental ballistic robot against Ukraine, Russia wants to give the appearance of an escalation in the war, but that is not the case, assesses Markus Göransson at the University of Defense.

– We are no closer to a nuclear war, he says.

Russia does not need to use intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to deliver a nuclear attack on Ukraine. Several of the weapons systems that have already been used in the war can be armed with nuclear weapons.

But now an intercontinental robot – without nuclear weapons – has nevertheless been used against Ukraine for the first time.

– This is an attempt by the Russian leadership to give the appearance that they are escalating the war against Ukraine by firing a type of robot that they have not used before, says Markus Göransson, lecturer in military science at the Defense Academy.

“Content-poor signal”

However, Russia’s move will have no practical military effect, he says, apart from raising concerns in the West as it may give the appearance that the risk of nuclear war has increased.

– Actually, it’s just like much else from the Russian leadership, a rather poor signal that they try to send out to the West.

That Russia has a large amount of these intercontinental robots is not news, he points out.

– If they had discovered a new weapons system that we were not familiar with or if they had attacked another country, then that would have raised concerns for me as well.

Limited response options

The attack, which was directed at the large city of Dnipro, is interpreted as a response to Ukraine attacking targets in Russia with weapons from the United States and Great Britain.

– It’s a development in the war, but I think it’s interesting that you don’t have much to answer with. You have somewhat limited response options to that development.

– That Ukraine can send these rather long-range robots on Russian territory is, in practical terms, a much greater development of the war in purely military terms.