KYIV, Nov 21 (Reuters) – 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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, said Moscow struck a Ukrainian military facility with a new medium-range, hypersonic ballistic missile known as “Oreshnik” (the hazel) and warned that more could follow. He said civilians would be warned ahead of further strikes with such weapons.
After approval from the administration of President Joe Biden, Ukraine struck Russia with six U.S.-made ATACMS on Nov. 19 and with British Storm Shadow missiles and U.S.-made HIMARS on Nov. 21, Putin said.
“From that moment, a regional conflict in Ukraine previously provoked by the West has acquired elements of a global character,” Putin said in an address to the nation carried by state television after 8 p.m. in Moscow (1700 GMT).
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said use of the new missile amounted to “a clear and severe escalation” in the war and called for strong worldwide condemnation.
A U.S. official said Russia notified Washington shortly before its strike, while another official said the U.S. had briefed Kyiv and allies to prepare for the possible use of such a weapon.
Kyiv initially suggested Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never before used in war.
But 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).
Tensions have spiked in the past several days. Ukraine fired U.S. and British missiles at targets inside Russia this week despite Moscow’s warnings that it would see such action as a major escalation.
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Zelenskiy, writing on X after Putin’s television appearance, said Russia’s acknowledgement it used the new weapon was another escalation after deployment of North Korean troops on Russian soil. Thursday’s attack, Zelenskiy said, was “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace.
“The world must respond. Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world. … A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behavior is acceptable.”
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia likely possesses a handful of the “experimental” missiles used in Thursday’s strike.
Ukraine’s air force said the missile targeted Dnipro in central-eastern Ukraine and was fired from the Russian region of Astrakhan, more than 700 km (435 miles) away.
Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at Oslo University who specializes in missile technology and nuclear strategy, said the most significant aspect of the weapon was that it carried a MIRVed (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle) payload.
Russia chose the weapon “for signaling purposes,” he said. “This payload is exclusively associated with nuclear-capable missiles.”
Russia also fired a Kinzhal hypersonic missile and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles, six of which were shot down, the Ukrainian air force said.
The attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in Dnipro, the air force said. Dnipro was a missile-making centre in the Soviet era. Ukraine has expanded its military industry during the war but keeps its whereabouts secret.
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Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said the attack damaged an industrial enterprise and set off fires in Dnipro. Two people were hurt.
Public broadcaster Suspilne said a Ukrainian parliamentary sitting scheduled for Friday had been postponed due to security concerns with no more sittings planned until December.
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Glowing projectiles could be seen plummeting to the ground from the night sky in a video published by Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian military charity. It said the video was of Dnipro overnight.
NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said Russia was seeking to “terrorise” civilians and intimidate Ukraine’s allies.
“Deploying this capability will neither change the course of the conflict nor deter NATO allies from supporting Ukraine,” Dakhlallah said.
Some military experts said the missile launch could be seen as an act of deterrence by Moscow following Kyiv’s strikes into Russia with Western weapons this week, after restrictions on such strikes were lifted.
Russian war correspondents on Telegram and an official speaking on condition of anonymity said Kyiv fired British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine on Wednesday.
Russia’s defence ministry, in its daily report of events over the previous 24 hours on Thursday, said air defences had shot down two British Storm Shadow cruise missiles but did not say where. Britain had previously let Ukraine use Storm Shadows only within Ukrainian territory.
The firing of the U.S. ATACMS missiles comes just two months before Biden leaves office and President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Washington sources familiar with the matter said the deployment of North Korean troops to aid Russia prompted Biden’s decision ahead of Trump’s second presidency.
Trump has said he will end the war, without saying how, and has criticised billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine under Biden. The warring sides believe Trump is likely to push for peace talks and are trying to attain strong positions before negotiations.
(Reuters)