The Kremlin on Friday said its use of a new hypersonic missile on Ukraine was a direct warning to the “reckless” West, after the US and UK approved Kyiv’s launching of their long-range ballistics on Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Thursday’s use of the Oreshnik — Russian for “hazelnut tree” — ballistic missile against a Ukrainian military facility during a new conference, saying it was a direct response to the two attacks Kyiv launched earlier this week using US and British-made missiles in Russia.
“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 told reporters.
“The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns are not taken into account have been quite clearly outlined,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted this week that the new Russian missile travels at 10 times the speed of sound — so fast that it cannot be intercepted — while Kremlin sources claim its range is up to 3,100 miles, or far enough to hit the West Coast in the US and also almost anywhere in Europe.
Kyiv kicked off the latest round of saber-rattling after finally being given the greenlight this week to use the American Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), HIMARS and British Storm Shadow weapons to directly strike inside Russia, after pleading for approval for months.
Moscow said the use of these weapons proves America’s and Britain’s direct involvement in the Ukraine war, as it also accused NATO of programming the missile’s flight path, claiming Kyiv does not have the capabilities to do so.
Russia’s defense ministry also hailed its Thursday strike in Ukraine as the first successful use of its new hypersonic ballistic missile in combat.
The missile, fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, hit a missile factory in Dnipro, located in Central Ukraine. Officials said it was carrying six warheads, each outfitted with six submunitions.
The Pentagon confirmed that the missile was an experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.
Putin notably used the strike to threaten the US and UK from further arming Kyiv, suggesting the same missile could be used against them in the future if the war keeps escalating.
“Yesterday’s statement [from Putin] was very comprehensive, clear, and logical,” Peskov said. “We have no doubt that the current administration in Washington had the opportunity to familiarize itself with this statement and understand it.”
The unprecedented Russian attack forced Ukraine’s parliament to cancel its Friday session as Kyiv and NATO now prepare to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday over the new threat.
Three Ukrainian officials confirmed the pause in parliament, saying it was due to the ongoing threat of Russian missile attacks in Kyiv.
The government also put out a recommendation to limit the work at all commercial offices and NGOs that remain in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat, lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev told The Associated Press.
With Post Wires
