The use of a new medium-range missile to strike Ukraine is a worrying development, according to the United Nations (UN). According to the US representative, Russia is trying to intimidate Ukraine by using the missile, but this is not a turning point in the conflict. TASR reports according to the Reuters and AFP agencies.
“This is another worrying development (of the conflict). It’s all going in the wrong direction,” said the spokesman of the UN Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric, and called on all parties to de-escalate the conflict. According to an unnamed US official, Thursday’s test of a new missile will not mark a significant turning point in the conflict. According to him, Russia probably has only a few new experimental missiles of this type.
Washington allegedly informed Ukraine and close allies about the possibility that Russia will use this missile in the coming days, and thereby helped Kyiv to prepare. The official also clarified that Moscow informed Washington about the missile attack in advance through communication channels used to avert the risk of a nuclear attack.
Putin said in a speech on state television on Thursday evening that Russia hit Ukraine with a new medium-range missile. “Our engineers named it Orešnik (Lieska),” he said. He added that it was a test in combat conditions, during which they hit a Ukrainian military facility. Ukraine confirmed on Thursday that Russia hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro with an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Russian president said that air defense cannot intercept the Oresnik missile, which flies at a speed of Mach 10 (2.5 to three km per second). “Modern air defense systems cannot intercept such missiles. It is impossible,” he declared. He described Oresnik’s test in combat conditions as “a reaction to the aggressive actions of NATO countries towards Russia.”
