Russia gave the U.S. a brief advance warning of the intermediate-range ballistic missile strike on Dnipro before the attack, according to comments a U.S. administration official made at a briefing on Nov. 21.
“The United States was pre-notified briefly before the launch, through nuclear risk reduction channels,” Defense Department Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.
The warning, sent 30 minutes before the launch, was also confirmed by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The U.S. had previously alerted Ukraine and its allies that Russia might test such an experimental missile.
In the early hours of Nov. 21, a country-wide air raid alert sounded due to the threat of ballistic missiles, and later, the launch of several Russian Tu-95MS bomber aircraft.
According to Ukraine's Air Force, the attack targeted the city of Dnipro using a number of different missile types.
Late on Nov. 21, Putin said in a televised address that the attack was a test of Russia's "newest missile," an IRBM called "Oreshnik."
Russia regularly uses close, and short range ballistic missiles in aerial attacks against Ukraine, but IRBMs and ICBMs are far larger, can be equipped with nuclear payloads, and are designed to hit targets at far longer ranges.
Alisa Yurchenko
