Russia developing 800km range ballistic missiles targeting western Ukraine

Russia is reportedly developing a modernized ballistic missile with an extended range of approximately 800 kilometers, potentially threatening western Ukrainian cities such as Lviv, Uzhhorod, and Ternopil. According to Ihor Romanenko, a former deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this development would follow the Iskander series and represents a third wave of Russian aerial attack capabilities.

Romanenko categorized Russian aerial threats into three waves. The first wave consists of standard Shahed drones, which Ukraine has developed methods to intercept. The second wave involves Shahed drones equipped with jet engines, which are faster and fly at higher altitudes, making them more difficult to intercept. The third wave is expected to be the modernized long-range ballistic missiles.

Following Russia's withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, the country is no longer restricted by previous limits on missiles with ranges exceeding 500 kilometers. While Ukraine has found countermeasures for the first two waves, the primary challenge remains scaling up the production of defense systems to meet the threat of the third wave.