KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental hypersonic ballistic missile, escalating the nearly 33-month war.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday that the conflict had “entered a decisive stage” and was “in a very dramatic phase.”
Ukraine's parliament has suspended its session as security has been tightened following Thursday's Russian attack on a military facility in the city of Dnipro.
In a stern warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised address that the attack with medium-range Oleshnik missiles was a direct result of Kiev's use of long-range missiles from the United States and Britain, which can strike deep into Russian territory. He said it was in retaliation. .
President Putin said Western air defense systems were not capable of stopping the new missile.
Ukrainian military officials said the missile that landed in Dnipro reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six non-nuclear warheads, each firing six submunitions.
President Putin told military and arms industry officials on Friday that Russia would begin production of Oreshnik.
“No one in the world has a weapon like that,” he said with a thin smile. “Sooner or later, other major countries will get them too. We know they are in development.”
But he added: “We have this system now, and this is what matters.”
Putin said missile tests would continue “depending on the situation and the nature of the security threat created against Russia, including in combat” and that “there are no plans for such systems ready for immediate use.” We have stockpiles,” he said.
Putin said that although it is not an intercontinental missile, it is so powerful that a single attack using multiple missiles with conventional warheads could be as devastating as an attack with strategic or nuclear weapons. He said it could lead to.
General Sergei Karakayev, commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oleshnik could reach targets across Europe and could be equipped with nuclear or conventional warheads, adding that even with a conventional warhead, “massive use of the weapon would not be possible. He agreed with President Putin's assertion that the two countries would be “effectively equivalent.” I am against the use of nuclear weapons. ”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday maintained Russia's belligerent tone and condemned the “reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying Ukraine with weapons for attacks on Russia.
“The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities and the contours of further retaliatory measures if our concerns are not taken into account are also very clear.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is widely seen as having the closest relationship with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Kremlin claims, saying that the United States could not use U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine. He suggested that direct involvement was likely necessary.
“These are rockets that are launched and guided to their targets via electronic systems, and they require the world's most advanced technology and satellite communication capabilities,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong belief that these missiles cannot be guided without the support of American personnel.”
Prime Minister Orban warned against underestimating Russia's response and stressed that recent amendments to the country's nuclear doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It's not a trick… there will be consequences,” he said.
Separately in Kiev, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said Thursday's missile attack was “an escalating step and an attempt by the Russian dictator to scare the Ukrainian people and the European people.” .
At a press conference with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha, Lipavsky also expressed full support for providing additional air defense systems needed to protect Ukrainian civilians from “heinous attacks.” .
He stressed that the Czech Republic will not impose any restrictions on the use of weapons and equipment provided to Ukraine.
Three members of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada have confirmed that a meeting scheduled for Friday has been canceled due to the continuing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kiev.
In addition, “there was also a recommendation to restrict the activities of all commercial offices and non-governmental organizations on its borders, and local residents were warned about the growing threat,” said Mikita Poturayev, a lawmaker, adding that such measures He added that this is not the first time. I received threats.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's office continues to operate according to standard security measures, the spokesperson said.
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oleshnik missile, whose name means “hazelnut tree” in Russian, was launched from the Kapustin Yar 4 missile test site in Russia's Astrakhan region and landed in Dnipro within 15 minutes. announced that it had flown before.
Similar missile tests were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the agency said. The Pentagon confirmed that the missile is a new experimental medium-range missile based on the RS-26 Lebezi intercontinental ballistic missile.
Thursday's attack hit the Pivdenmash factory, which manufactured intercontinental ballistic missiles when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. This military installation is located approximately 4 miles (6 kilometers) southwest of downtown Dnipropetrovsk. Dnipropetrovsk, with a population of approximately 1 million people, is Ukraine's fourth largest city and an important hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid. He was admitted to one of the country's largest hospitals to treat wounded soldiers from the front before being transferred to Kiev or abroad.
The affected area was sealed off and hidden from public view. As no deaths were reported from the attack, Dnipro residents resorted to black humor on social media, mainly focusing on the missile's name, “Oreshnik.''
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia attacked residential areas in Sumy overnight with Iranian-designed Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 13 others, the regional administration said.
Ukraine's Suspirin media reported that the drone was loaded with debris, citing Volodymyr Artyov, head of the Sumy region. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not objects,” Artyuk said, according to Suspline.
