Russia is preparing to conduct a "training" launch of an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile overnight on May 19, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR).

The missile, equipped with a non-combat "training" warhead, is reportedly intended to intimidate Ukraine, as well as EU and NATO member states.

The launch is scheduled to take place near the village of Svobodny in Sverdlovsk Oblast, approximately 100 kilometers northeast of Yekaterinburg, HUR stated. The agency did not disclose potential targets for the exercise. The Kyiv Independent has not independently verified these claims.

The RS-24 Yars, a nuclear-capable solid-fuel missile adopted by Russia in 2009, has a range of 11,000 kilometers and, when armed with a combat warhead, carries an explosive yield equivalent to one million tons of TNT.

The planned launch follows peace talks in Istanbul on May 16 and comes just hours before a scheduled phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. It also echoes Russia’s recent use of an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in an attack on Dnipro on November 21, 2024, which followed the U.S. and U.K. lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s long-range strikes into Russian territory. That strike was accompanied by a Russian media campaign aimed at undermining Western support for Ukraine.

The reported missile launch adds to heightened tensions as Russia continues to signal its military capabilities amid ongoing geopolitical developments. (ILKHA)