Russia readies new 500-mile missile as weapon expert warns of 'terminal end game surprises'

Moscow is preparing for a final test of a new ballistic missile capable of striking targets hundreds of miles away and potentially maneuvering in ways that could challenge

Ukraine’s

already strained air defenses, a defense analyst warned Monday.

The warning comes as Ukrainian military officials said that Russia could conduct the test in the coming months and potentially in live-fire strikes.

"According to our estimates, Russia plans to conduct final tests of a new type of ballistic missile with a range of up to 800 km by the end of this year," Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), said at a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council, according to Ukrainian news outlet

Ukrainska Pravda.

"If, for instance, this 800-kilometer missile has more advanced maneuverability, well then that's going to create greater problems for Ukraine in that they're going to need the more sophisticated interceptors to get them,"

Tom Karako

, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital.