Russia Plans RS-24 Training and Combat Missile Launch to Pressure Ukraine and NATO

Russia plans to execute a training and combat launch of an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in an effort to pressure Ukraine, NATO, and the EU, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

“For the purpose of demonstrative pressure and intimidation of Ukraine, as well as EU and NATO member states, the Russian Federation intends to perform a ‘training and combat’ launch of the RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile from the Yars system on the night of May 19, 2025,” the DIU stated.

Unlike previous launches, the missile will not be fired from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Instead, the launch is expected to take place near the town of Svobodny in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region. According to the DIU, the personnel from the 433rd Regiment of the 42nd Division under the 31st Army of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces will execute the operation.

Russia has conducted several launches of the Yars ICBM since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The most recent launch took place in October 2024 as part of a strategic nuclear forces exercise, which also included launches of submarine-launched ballistic missiles — the Sineva from the Barents Sea and the Bulava from the Sea of Okhotsk — and cruise missiles fired by Tu-95MS long-range bombers.

However, the upcoming launch is notable as it will be the first to take place from the area around Svobodny rather than Plesetsk.

Svobodny hosts the permanent base of the 433rd Missile Regiment (military unit 19972), as well as several fixed launch sites for the Yars mobile system.

Although the mobile launchers can technically operate from any location, special stationary hangars known as 15U182 Krona have been established to reduce wear on the mobile platforms.

Each Krona facility allows a mobile launcher to remain combat-ready while sheltered. The roof can retract to enable vertical missile launch directly from the hangar.

Combat duty carrying unit 15U182 Krona. Photo from open sources

Yars

The Yars missile system has been in service since 2011. It features a three-stage solid-fuel missile with a launch weight of 46 tons and a claimed range of up to 10,000 kilometers.

According to Russian sources, the missile can carry three to four warheads with yields of 300–500 kilotons or up to six warheads rated at 150 kilotons each.

A modernized version, the Yars-S, was adopted in 2021.