Russia fires intercontinental ballistic missile (an RS-26 ICBM) in attack on Ukraine, Kyiv says

[Zavulon]

Does anyone know that we have satellites monitoring any time the Russkies launch a bottle rocket? We know every time they launch, where it was from, and where it is going. This was no surprise to no one. They likely told us in advance.

My personal theory is that the missile was likely old and going to be removed from service, so they stripped off the nuke warhead and filled the warhead with rocks. The damage inflicted at the impact site was not very impressive. It was intended as a threat and that is the way it was recievd by anyone without a clue as to how the Russkies operate.

It was not about damaging capacity of the warheads. It was more about their accuracy. The Russians just put all 36 RVs in the bull eyes as large as Yuzmash. It means that accuracy of every individual guided vehicle is counted in first meters. Good enough to effectively eliminate Minuteman III silo or even its control center. And it means that for elimination of the whole US nuclear force Russia need not 1000, but 500 warheads.