Great Britain Putin threatens further missile attacks on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed an attack on Ukraine with a new medium-range missile and threatened further strikes. In a video address, he named the Oreshnik system. It operates at hypersonic speed and cannot be intercepted, said the Kremlin leader. On Thursday morning, six warheads from a Russian missile were suspected to have hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. They were not nuclear warheads, Putin said.

He spoke of a reaction to the fact that the USA and other Western countries had allowed Ukraine to use long-range weapons on Russian territory. "We have repeatedly emphasized that the regional conflict in Ukraine provoked by the West has taken on elements of a global character," said Putin. At the same time, he described the new system as Moscow's response to the USA's plans to deploy medium-range missiles in Europe and the Pacific.

Moscow wants to warn civilians

In the event of further possible attacks with Oreshnik, Russia will warn the civilian population so that they can leave the danger zone, Putin said. He did not speak of a nuclear attack. However, experts see the use of several warheads in particular as an indication that the missile could technically also be equipped with nuclear weapons. Data on the new missile is not yet available and the type designation has not yet been revealed.

The use of long-range missiles on both sides is considered a dangerous escalation in the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country, which has been going on for more than 1000 days.

In recent days, Ukraine had fired US-made ATACMS and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles at military targets in Russia. After the attack with the new missile type on Dnipro, there was initially speculation as to whether it could have been an intercontinental missile.

SDA