Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed for the first time that Russia used the ground-launched 9M729 cruise missile in combat against Ukraine. This missile is the same one that, in 2019, pushed the United States under Donald Trump to abandon the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty – a nuclear arms control pact signed by Donald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 – because it violated limits on the range of ground-based weapons (maximum 500 kilometers). Reuters writes this in an online exclusive, and the first official confirmation comes from Sybiha. Russia has launched the weapon – codenamed NATO SSC-8 – at Ukraine 23 times since August. According to the website Missile Threat, the missile, which can carry a nuclear or conventional warhead, has a range of 2,500 kilometers. Among the evidence gathered of its use is the October 5 attack on the village of Lapaiivka, when a Russian strike hit a residential building, killing four people. Images of the missile fragments examined by Reuters showed markings 9M729, confirmed by experts such as Jeffrey Lewis (Middlebury College). Furthermore, the identified components (engine, tube with cables, panels) are consistent with the design of the 9M729. The use of the 9M729 represents a new phase of escalation in the war in Ukraine and a direct threat to European security and fits into a geopolitical framework where Trump, Putin and nuclear disarmament policies are back at the center of the global debate
.Sybiha said that the use of the 9M729 is a clear signal of Putin's disrespect towards the United States and Trump's diplomatic efforts. Efforts that Kiev supports, while insisting on the international community to put pressure on the Kremlin and on the need to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons such as Tomahawk missiles, seen by Russia as an element of dangerous escalation. The use of the 9M729 expands Russia's long-range arsenal and poses a threat not only to Ukraine but also to Europe . Analysts such as William Alberque (Pacific Forum) and John Foreman (former British defense attaché) say the missile is designed to strike targets in Europe and that its use is a political signal from Moscow during the peace negotiations. After withdrawing from the INF Treaty, Russia declared a moratorium on intermediate-range missiles, but in August 2025 it removed all limits on their deployment.
This weapon allows Russia to strike from further away, even from its own territory, reducing the risk to its launchers. It offers new attack trajectories, making interception by Ukrainian air defenses more difficult. According to expert Douglas Barrie (IISS), its use in Ukraine serves both to test the system in real-world conditions and to strengthen Russia's operational capabilities. Furthermore, in recent days, Moscow has also tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon torpedo, both nuclear-powered. However, the Kremlin's claims of"successful" tests cannot be verified. Trump, meanwhile, has ordered a resumption of American nuclear weapons testing, citing other countries' military programs. The announcement surprised even some of the US president's advisers, CNN reported."Historically, it is the Department of Energy that maintains and tests the US nuclear arsenal, not the Department of Defense," the network emphasized."And engineers have said that accurate tests can be conducted through computer simulations, without detonating a real nuclear warhead underwater or in the Nevada desert. A few hours after the president's post, it didn't appear that the Pentagon was moving quickly to test a nuclear weapon."
