WASHINGTON — Russia could launch its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again soon, the Pentagon said Wednesday, as both sides struggle to gain a battlefield advantage that will give them leverage in any negotiations to end the nearly 3-year war.
Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters that an attack could occur “in the coming days,” adding that the U.S. does not consider the Oreshnik missile, which was used for the first time last month, a game-changer on the battlefield.
The U.S. is basing its warning on a new intelligence assessment, but Singh couldn’t provide further details on where Russia might strike. American officials said earlier Wednesday that the U.S. is seeing Russia make preparations for another launch of the missile.
The threat comes as President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the war, and Western allies have suggested that negotiations to do so could begin this winter. The U.S. will continue to support Ukraine, including with additional air defense systems designed to protect the country against air assaults.
On Wednesday, Ukraine used six U.S.-made ATACMS missiles to strike a military air base in the southern Rostov region, injuring soldiers. Russia’s Defense Ministry responded by saying that Moscow is prepared to retaliate and that any attack with Western long-range weapons will not be left unanswered.
The Oreshnik rocket has been used in combat only once before, in a November 21 attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, which resulted in huge fireballs piercing the darkness and slamming into the ground at astonishing speed. Russia first fired the missile in February 2022, when it was used to strike a military facility in Ukraine.
