Several days ago, the pin was pulled. Reuters reported,

Russia fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday in response to the U.S. and UK's allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons, in a further escalation of the 33-month-old war.

This was a shorter-range weapon, "U.S. officials and NATO echoed Putin's description of the weapon as an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has a shorter range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,860-3,415 miles)."

Moscow to New York is about 4,600 miles, meaning that this missile does not threaten the continental U.S., but the rest of Europe and NATO are at risk. This explains why Sweden and Finland are preparing for possible war.

Major EU capital cities could be minutes from obliteration by this Russian missile. With its hypersonic speed, the missile could reach Berlin in 15 minutes and London and Paris in 20 minutes.

Is Russian President Vladimir Putin the instigator, or did the U.S. and NATO poke the bear one too many times? Signs at the zoo warn visitors not to tease or provoke the animals. Those who disregard such advice often learn of their folly the hard way.

How many such missiles does Russia have? Our intel community may or may not know. Government intelligence is often used to create a narrative rather than reflect reality, so we may be in for a future surprise.

Is the Russian missile launch a gambit toward a negotiated peace with a future President Trump? Perhaps. Remember that chess is a national pastime in Russia. Moves and countermoves.

Chess, however, is played with wooden pieces on a small board, not with nuclear weapons capable of destroying civilization. In Dirty Harry fashion, Russia and the U.S. may ask each other, "Do you feel lucky today?"

Unfortunately, Trump cannot negotiate anything until January 20. All communications from Trump and his entire team are likely being monitored by the same agencies that spied on his 2016 transition, looking for any opportunity to invoke the Logan Act as an excuse not to certify his election. Remember that the president-elect is not simply "any citizen" corresponding with a foreign government.