The Kremlin fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday in response to Kyiv's use this week of American and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia, President Vladimir Putin said.


What You Need To Know

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine and that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia

  • Putin said during a nationwide TV address that the Russian strike Thursday on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro came in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory this week that used U.S. and British longer-range missiles

  • Two people were wounded in the attack

  • Putin declared that Russia would issue advance warnings if it launches more strikes with such missile against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety

In a televised address to the country, the Russian president warned that U.S. air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile, which he said flies at Mach 10 and which he called the Oreshnik — Russian for hazelnut tree. He also said it could be used to attack any Ukrainian ally whose missiles are used to attack Russia.

"We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of the countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities," Putin said in his first comments since President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the green light this month to use U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike at limited targets inside Russia.

The attack Thursday on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro came in response to Kyiv's use of longer-range U.S. and British missiles in strikes on Russia this week, Putin said.

"In the case of escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond resolutely in a mirror way," the Russian president said.

Putin said the Oreshnik struck a well-known missile factory in Dnipro. He also said Russia would issue advance warnings if it launches more strikes with the Oreshnik against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety — something Moscow hasn't previously done.

Putin's announcement came hours after Ukraine claimed that Russia had used an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Dnipro attack, which wounded two people and damaged an industrial facility and rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, according to local officials. But American officials said an initial U.S. assessment indicated the strike was carried out with an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

The attack comes during a week of escalating tensions, as the U.S. eased restrictions on Ukraine's use of American-made longer-range missiles inside Russia and Putin lowered the threshold for launching nuclear weapons.

The Ukrainian air force said in a statement that the Dnipro attack was launched from Russia's Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea.

"Today, our crazy neighbor once again showed what he really is," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said hours before Putin's address. "And how afraid he is."