According to the Defense Express media outlet, Russia did not launch an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile on the night of 18-19 May, as warned by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

Source : Defense Express

Details : It is noted that if the launch had taken place, it would have been highly likely filmed by locals and made public.

"The Russians would also have been able to observe the missile flying. 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 outlet says.

Why the Russians did not carry out the launch remains unknown.

However, Defense Express reiterated that in 2023, the Russian Federation failed twice in a row to successfully launch RS-24 Yars missiles, which veered off course.

"After all, any missile undergoes pre-flight checks, and it is unlikely that the Kremlin is interested in demonstrating the inefficiency of its nuclear deterrent forces ahead of the talks between Putin and Trump," the article states.

Defense Express also does not rule out an abnormal situation during the first stage of flight immediately after launch, despite the fact that the Yars is a deeply modernised version of the Topol, there is always a risk of failure. For example, at the end of September 2024, an RS-28 Sarmat exploded in a launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.

For reference : Yars, or RS-24, is a strategic system based on a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile. It was adopted by the Russian Federation in 2009.

The system is equipped with a separable warhead, which can have 3 to 6 warheads, depending on the modification. Each warhead can hit a different target.

The missile's flight speed is reportedly up to 14 Mach, and its explosive power is equivalent to a million tonnes. Propagandists claim that no missile defence system is capable of shooting it down, and that a Yars warhead can completely destroy a small city.

Background :

• Prior to this, Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence warned that on the night of 18-19 May, Russia was planning to carry out a demonstrative training and combat launch of the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile.
• On the evening of 9 May, the US Embassy in Ukraine called on its citizens to be cautious due to the risk of a large-scale airstrike "in the coming days".
• It later became known that Russia would close the airspace over the Kapustin Yar missile training ground for two days, 12 and 13 May, for the possible launch of ballistic missiles.

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