The RS-26 Rubezh (Russian: РС-26 Рубеж, meaning frontier or boundary), designated by NATO as SS-X-31,[4] is a Russian solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a nuclear warhead, of which the range bracket just barely classifies it as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
It is equipped with a thermonuclear MIRV or MaRV payload, and is also intended to be capable of carrying the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle.
[13] According to the Ukrainian Air Force and Ukrainska Pravda, on 21 November 2024, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation launched an unspecified number of conventionally armed (i.e. non-nuclear) RS-26 missiles, reportedly targeting critical infrastructure in the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine.
[16] Later that day, Vladimir Putin confirmed that the strike had indeed not been performed by an ICBM, but a new model of IRBM, the Oreshnik, using a non-nuclear hypersonic payload.
[20] The RS-26 is designed to pose a strategic threat to European capitals and has the ability to target NATO forces in Western Europe.