Bogdan Frolov10:00, October 31, 2025
Experts, having examined the debris, confirm this.
Russia has attacked Ukraine in recent months with a cruise missile, the development of which once prompted US President Donald Trump to withdraw from a nuclear arms control treaty with Moscow during his first term, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.
This is the first official confirmation that Russia has used the 9M729 land-based cruise missile in combat, in Ukraine or anywhere else, Reuters writes .
According to another senior Ukrainian official, Russia has launched this missile at Ukraine 23 times since August. Ukraine also recorded two 9M729 launches in 2022.
The rocket flew 1,200 kilometers
The 9M729 missile was the reason the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. Washington claimed that Russia violated the treaty’s terms because the missile could fly much further than the 500 km limit. Media reports indicate that Moscow denied this.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, Washington), the 9M729 has a range of up to 2,500 km and is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads. According to a military source, the missile launched by Russia on October 5 flew more than 1,200 km to its impact point in Ukraine.
“Russia’s use of the 9M729 missile, banned by the INF Treaty, in recent months demonstrates Putin’s disrespect for the United States and President Trump’s diplomatic efforts to end the war against Ukraine,” Sybiga said.
A threat to Europe
Russia’s use of the 9M729 expands its arsenal of long-range strike weapons against Ukraine and, according to Western military analysts, serves as a signal to Europe amid Trump’s attempts to achieve a peace settlement.
“I think Putin is ratcheting up the pressure in the Ukraine negotiations,” said William Alberque, a senior fellow at the Pacific Forum think tank, adding that the 9M729 was originally designed to strike targets in Europe. Last week, Russia also tested the Burevestnik nuclear cruise missile, and on Wednesday, it announced the test of the Poseidon nuclear torpedo tube.
Following the US withdrawal from the INF Treaty, which banned land-based missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km, Russia declared a moratorium on their deployment. However, the West claimed that Moscow had already deployed some 9M729 missiles.
“If it is confirmed that Russia is using medium-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, this will become a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the whole of Europe,” said John Foreman, former British military attaché in Moscow and Kyiv.
Missile traces and evidence
The media reports that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not specify the dates and locations of the 9M729 missile strikes.
According to a source, the first launch took place on August 21—less than a week after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Reuters, meanwhile, examined photographs of debris from the Russian strike on a residential building in the village of Lapayevka on October 5, which killed four people. The area is more than 600 kilometers from the Russian border. 9M729 markings were visible on the debris, including a section of cables.
Professor Jeffrey Lewis of Middlebury College, an expert in global security, confirmed that the tube, engine and casing match the design of the 9M729 missile.
(C)UNIAN 2025