Following nighttime missile and drone attacks by Russia that targeted key energy infrastructure in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is now using a new hypersonic missile that could even reach the United States. It said it could target government buildings in Kiev next.
Russian attacks have so far not hit “decision-making centers” in the Ukrainian capital, as Kiev is heavily protected by air defenses. But President Putin said Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which was launched for the first time into a Ukrainian city last week, could not be intercepted.
On November 21, Russia launched an Oreshnik toward the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, attacking a weapons production factory. This was in retaliation for Ukraine's attack on Russian military facilities in Bryansk two days earlier with a long-range missile called ATACMS, made in the United States, after President Biden gave permission to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Russia launches another large missile, drone attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure
On November 24, 2024, fragments of a rocket that landed in Dnipro on November 21 were identified at a forensic analysis center in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Evgeny Maloletka, Maine, Gavriil Grigorov/Pool/AFP, right)
Russia announced that Ukraine launched additional ATACMS into the Kursk region on November 23 and November 25.
“Of course, as we have already said, continued attacks on Russian territory will not require Western-made We will respond with long-range missiles,” he said at a meeting of the security alliance of former Soviet states in Kazakhstan.
“Currently, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff are selecting targets for attack on Ukrainian territory. They could be military installations, defense and industrial enterprises, or decision-making centers in Kiev,” he said. .
The Oleshnik missile's equipment, including sensors, electronics, and data collection capabilities, is the same as that of Russia's Lubezh solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). Oreshnik has a flight capability of 310 to 3,100 miles, just 310 miles below the standard lower limit for ICBMs, and can target much of Europe and the U.S. West Coast. After launch, such a missile could probably hit Britain within 20 minutes and Poland within 12 minutes.
Oleshnik can be equipped with non-nuclear or nuclear warheads. It is also designed to fly at hypersonic speeds of up to Mach 11, making it nearly impossible for existing missile defense systems to intercept it.
President Putin said Russia's production of advanced missile systems exceeds that of the NATO military alliance by 10 times, and Russia plans to further expand production.
Due to plans to increase production and ongoing strikes, the conflict, which has already passed 1,000 days, shows no signs of letting up.
Russia launched a massive drone and missile air attack on Ukraine on Thursday, targeting key energy infrastructure, knocking out power to more than 1 million homes in the country's west, south and center, Ukrainian officials said. did.
Russia launches record number of drones in new attack
Firefighters extinguished a fire caused by a Russian drone and missile attack. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, via X)
The attack consisted of nearly 200 missile and drone launches, with explosions reported in Kiev, Kharkov, Rivne, Khmelnytsky, Lutsk, and a number of other cities in central and western Ukraine.
The operation is Russia's largest airstrike on Ukraine's power grid in less than two weeks, and President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the attack was a response to a U.S. attack on the Russian region of Kiev that used long-range missiles. He said it was retaliation.
The attack has raised concerns in Ukraine that Russia is seeking to cripple its energy infrastructure before the winter weather sets in and Ukrainians feel depressed about the outcome of the war.
President Zelenskiy said the attack was a “despicable escalation” and that Kalibr cruise missiles equipped with cluster munitions were used to deliberately target civilian infrastructure.
“The use of these cluster elements significantly complicates the work of our rescuers and power engineers to reduce damage and indicates a further despicable escalation of Russian terrorist tactics,” Zelenskiy told X I wrote it.
He called on Western countries to deliver on promised air defense weapons. Ukrainian officials have complained in the past that military aid has been slow to arrive.
Thursday's attack came just hours after President-elect Trump nominated Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg for a new post focused on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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The attack occurred just hours after President-elect Trump nominated Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg for a new post focused on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. President Trump creates the post of special envoy for the Ukraine conflict;
Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Kellogg presented Trump with a plan to end the conflict and in April floated the idea of using weapons supplied to Ukraine as leverage in negotiating a truce with Russia. co-authored the presented research document.
Rebekah Koffler, Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
