Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 - Faculty of Law

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The missile standoff: ballistic considerations of the war in Ukraine

Par Douglas Rocha

Abstract

On February 24, 2022, after a few months of strategic uncertainty on the Russian-Ukrainian borders, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military offensive in Ukraine. This attack confirmed the aggressive intentions of Russia, which had amassed military forces on the Ukrainian border since December 2021. It also confirmed the concretization of Russia’s efforts to remain a major power in the ballistic field.

About the Author

Research fellow at the Institute for Strategic and Defense Studies (IESD) for studies on nuclear arms control and ballistic non-proliferation. Former Research assistant at the Brazilian Center for Strategy and International Relations (NERINT). He holds a Master's degree in International Security and Defense from the University Jean Moulin (Lyon, France) and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil).

The high-intensity nature of this war is a real-time testing field for the performance of these weapons, whether on the Russian or Ukrainian side, and that allows to evaluate their performance.

Douglas Rocha
710
It's the number of missiles employed by Russian forces in less than 15 days

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