23 times in four short months. Russia has reportedly launched 23 Novator 9M729 cruise missiles against Ukraine since last August. The announcement was made by Oleksandr Sorochyk, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna, at a meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation.
“We have confirmed evidence that Russia used the 9M729 – an explicitly prohibited missile system capable of carrying nuclear warheads,” explained Oleksandr Sorochyk, who did not provide details about the damage or the target location.
Prohibited by the nuclear powers treaty
According to Reuters, Moscow used “Novator” missiles to attack Lviv Oblast this fall. According to a senior Ukrainian official, the shooting began on August 21, less than a week after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, which did not produce any peace process. But why do we talk so much about this missile?
The Novator 9M729 was at the heart of a major controversy, leading to the United States’ withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) in August 2019. Signed in 1987 in Washington, the treaty prohibited its members from producing, testing or deploying ground-launched, medium-range (1,000 to 5,500 km) or short-range nuclear-type ballistic and cruise missiles. (500 to 1,000 km).
However, the “Novator”, named after its manufacturer, has a range of almost 1,500 km despite Moscow’s claims to the contrary. In a strike in Ukraine this fall, the 6 to 8 meter long weapon will travel 1,200 km before reaching its target. A clear and obvious violation of the treaty that caused the United States to reject previously signed treaties. Therefore, the “SSC-8 Screwdriver”, its official name assigned by NATO, will have no place on the Ukrainian front.
But this is not a problem for Russia, which has used the same surface-to-air missile twice in 2022. The missile is also part of the same launch system as the Iskander-K, which is used very frequently on the front lines. Therefore, deployment of the Novator 9M729 is very fast and can be repeated in the future.
