US EditionWhere’s the Missile? No Sign of Russia’s Yars ICBM Launch
- Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate reported that Russia planned a nighttime RS-24 Yars ICBM launch near Svobodny in Sverdlovsk Oblast on May 19, 2025.
- This report followed earlier indications of atypical movements near a unit of Russia’s 42nd Missile Division stationed in Sverdlovsk Oblast, but the absence of launch footage and civilian reports suggests the planned missile test was either aborted or unsuccessful.
- The Yars missile, Russia’s principal ground-based strategic system with over 200 in service, is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads and is deployed mostly on mobile launchers that risk early-stage failures.
- Experts indicate the lack of visual or social media evidence and early failure symptoms point toward a technical malfunction or deliberate cancellation, possibly to avoid exposing missile system flaws before Putin’s talks with Trump.
- The presumed failed or aborted Yars launch highlights ongoing challenges in Russia’s strategic missile forces and may serve as ambiguous geopolitical signalling during heightened tensions with the West.
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Russia Would Have Failed to Launch an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile RS-24 Yars to Ukraine, as Planned
The Media Defense Express reported that Russia did not launch an intercontinental ballistic missile RS-24 Yars on the night of 18-19 May, as warned by the Ukrainian Defence Information Service.
·Romania
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left2Leaning Right1Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 25%
R 25%
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