Russia's Missile Timeline: A Surprise to the U. S. ?

In a recent phone call, Russia's top military commander, General Valery Gerasimov, had some news for the U. S. He told General Charles C. Q. Brown, the U. S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Russia had been planning to launch a hypersonic missile at Ukraine way before the U. S. allowed Kyiv to use long-range missiles. This is quite different from what Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin, had said. He had linked the missile launch to the U. S. decision. The missile in question was the Oreshnik, which was fired at Dnipro on November 21. It's an intermediate-range missile, and even though it only carries conventional warheads, its launch was seen as a warning that Russia could use nuclear weapons. This happened around the same time Putin updated Russia's nuclear policy to make it easier to use atomic weapons, which increased tensions even more.

But here's where it gets interesting. Gerasimov also warned the U. S. about upcoming test launches of hypersonic missiles in the Mediterranean Sea. He asked U. S. ships to stay clear of the target area and talked about how to avoid misunderstandings between the U. S. and Russia over the war in Ukraine. The U. S. Navy has ships in the Mediterranean that help protect Israel. Russia's defense ministry said they conducted these missile tests between December 1 and December 3. The tests involved over 1, 000 troops, 10 ships, and 24 aircraft.

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