Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin firing new ballistic missile is ‘severe escalation’ as Nato and Kyiv to meet
Zelensky urged worldwide condemnation and said the attack was proof Russia has ‘no interest in peace’
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Your support makes all the difference.Russia’s use of a new experimental hypersonic missile is a severe escalation of the conflict, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned.
Zelensky said the attack on Dnipro, central Ukraine, with a medium-range ballistic warhead on Thursday was “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace”.
Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile – which has a range of more than 3,400 miles and can be used to carry nuclear warheads – was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea.
In response, Nato and Ukraine will meet in Brussels, Belgium, next week to discuss Moscow’s use of the Oreshnik missile.
“He is testing you, dear partners. He must be stopped. A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behaviour is acceptable. This is what Putin is doing,” Zelensky said.
“Pressure is needed. Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength,” he added.
Vladimir Putin said the missile travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and so could not be intercepted - allowing Russia to strike most of Europe and the west coast of the United States.
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Russia says hypersonic missile strike on Ukraine was a warning to 'reckless' West
The Kremlin said on Friday that a strike on Ukraine using a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile was a message to the West that Moscow will respond harshly to any “reckless” Western actions in support of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had fired the new missile - the Oreshnik or Hazel Tree - at a Ukrainian military facility in response to Kyiv striking Russia with U.S.-made and British-made missiles this week for the first time after the US granted its approval.
“The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries that produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine, and subsequently participate in strikes on Russian territory cannot remain without a reaction from the Russian side,” Peskov said.
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How damaging could Putin’s IRBM’s be?
While launching an IRBM sent a less threatening signal, the incident could still set off alarms and Moscow notified Washington briefly ahead of the launch, according to US officials.
Russian military expert Anatoly Matviychuk said it could carry six to eight conventional or nuclear warheads, and was probably already in service.
Putin said the missile travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and so could not be intercepted, with Russian sources saying the range was 3,1000 miles.
It also appeared to have multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles: separate warheads able to hit different targets.
Watch: Footage appears to show Russia's ICBM launch hitting Ukraine
Ukraine says new missile fired by Russia flew for 15 minutes
The Russian missile that struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday flew for 15 minutes and reached a maximum speed of beyond Mach 11, Kyiv’s top spy agency said on Friday.
“The flight time of this Russian missile from the moment of its launch in the Astrakhan region to its impact in the city of Dnipro was 15 minutes,” the Main Directorate of Intelligence said in a statement, adding that the weapon was “likely from the ‘Kedr’ missile complex.
“The missile was equipped with six warheads: each equipped with six submunitions. The speed at the final part of the trajectory was over Mach 11.”
How damaging could Putin’s IRBM’s be?
While launching an IRBM sent a less threatening signal, the incident could still set off alarms and Moscow notified Washington briefly ahead of the launch, according to US officials.
Russian military expert Anatoly Matviychuk said it could carry six to eight conventional or nuclear warheads, and was probably already in service.
Putin said the missile travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and so could not be intercepted, with Russian sources saying the range was 3,1000 miles.
It also appeared to have multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles: separate warheads able to hit different targets.
What missile did Russia use?
Ukraine’s air force initially said the missile was an intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) - the kind that Russia could hit the United States with.
But the US military later said the weapon was an intermediate-range missile (IRBM) based on the design of Russia’s longer-range RS-26 ICBM missile
The Pentagon said it was fired with a conventional warhead but Moscow could modify it if it wanted, with Russia only possessing a handful of them.
“It could be refitted to certainly carry different types of conventional or nuclear warheads,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.
What is an intercontinental ballistic missile and how many does Russia have?
Two killed in Russian drone attack on Sumy
A Russian drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two people and injured 12 on Friday morning, regional authorities said.
Twelve apartment buildings, five private residences, a store and three cars were damaged after three drones attacked the city around 5am (0300 GMT), the national police said.
Volodymyr Artiukh, Sumy regional governor, said Russian forces had equipped drones with shrapnel for the attack on a densely populated area of the city.
“This weapon is used exclusively to kill people,” Artiukh said, pointing to scars on a damaged building. “Not for a facility, but in order to destroy more people.”
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