Vladimir Putin has unleashed a fresh attack on Ukraine, using a new intermediate range missile. The Russian President has warned that he is prepared to use it again against the country’s enemies.
Putin made a nationwide address on television as part of his first appearance in nearly two weeks. The tyrant said today’s strike was in retaliation to recent strikes from Ukraine on Russian territory using US and British missiles earlier this week.
Chillingly, he added Russia would issue advance warnings before firing on its – to allow civilians to evacuate, The Mirror reports. The new ‘Oreshnik’ rockets are able to fire at speeds of Mach 10 and travel around 3kms a second. Putin added that not even the US would be capable of intercepting them.
He said in a statement: “I would like to inform the personnel of the Russian Armed Forces, the citizens of our country, our friends around the world, as well as those who continue to harbour illusions about the possibility of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, about the events taking place today in the SVO zone, namely after the use of long-range weapons of Western manufacture on our territory.”
Putin also declared that Moscow could strike the military installations of any country whose weapons were used against Russia. This can be seen as a threat against the UK, following reports of a British-made Storm Shadow missile being fired in Kursk.
“We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of the countries that allow [others] to use their weapons against our facilities,” said Putin. “And in case of escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond resolutely in a mirror way.”
Earlier, Ukraine claimed Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) overnight at one of its cities, but American officials said an initial U.S. assessment indicated the strike was carried out with an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Ukraine did not provide evidence an ICBM was used in the attack on the central city of Dnipro.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a missile used “matches the speed and altitude” of an ICBM. The Kremlin refused to comment on the strike.
In a statement on Thursday on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine’s air force said an intercontinental ballistic missile was fired at Dnipro, along with eight other missiles, and that the Ukrainian military shot down six of them. Two people were wounded in the attack, according to officials.
The air force statement said it was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea. Zelensky said: “Today, our crazy neighbour once again showed what he really is – and how afraid he is.”
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