Putin warns West as Russia hits Ukraine with new missile
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Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning to the West after Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday morning. The missile, which Putin identified as a new conventional intermediate-range weapon named Oreshnik, was presented as a direct response to the use of U.S. and U.K. long-range missiles by Ukraine. These missiles were employed to strike targets within Russian territory, marking a significant shift in Ukraine’s military capabilities.
Putin’s remarks indicated that Russia might target military facilities in countries that allow their weapons to be used against Russian targets. He suggested that the new missile system was developed to counter the escalating use of Western weapons, including U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles and U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, which Ukraine received this week in a change of Western policy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia’s use of the new missile, calling it “a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war.” Zelensky also accused Putin of prolonging the conflict, stating that his actions showed a disregard for peace efforts. “Putin is not only prolonging the war—he is spitting in the face of those who genuinely want peace to be restored,” Zelensky wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Earlier in the week, Zelensky had speculated that the missile could be similar to an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), though Western officials have expressed doubt over this claim. The U.S. National Security Council confirmed that Russia had launched an “experimental medium-range ballistic missile” but noted that Russia likely possesses only a small number of these missiles, suggesting that they would not significantly alter the course of the war. The Pentagon also confirmed that the U.S. had received a brief notification of the missile launch via Nuclear Risk Reduction channels, a system used for sharing information on missile launches and other related issues.
Putin defended the missile’s purpose, asserting that it was part of a broader response to the deployment of long-range weaponry by the U.S. and U.K. He claimed that the missile, which can reach speeds of Mach 10 (approximately 2.5-3 km/s), is nearly impossible to intercept and described it as a non-nuclear hypersonic weapon. He added that the weapon’s target—one of Ukraine’s military-industrial sites—had been successfully hit. Putin further warned the West that Russia is prepared for any escalation, saying, “If anyone still doubts this, they shouldn’t. There will always be a response.”
Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), suggested that the missile Russia used has a longer range than the Iskander missiles used previously in the conflict, which have a range of up to 500 km (311 miles). Intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), which Putin appears to be referring to, typically have ranges between 3,000 and 5,500 km. While Savill noted that the military significance of this particular missile may be limited, he stressed that its use is symbolically important. He pointed to Russia’s recent revisions to its nuclear doctrine, which many experts interpret as signaling a lower threshold for the potential use of nuclear weapons.
Putin’s announcement came as the war in Ukraine enters its 1,000th day, with new and dangerous developments in the ongoing conflict. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has already led to massive loss of life and widespread destruction, particularly in the eastern and southern regions of the country.
The missile launch also follows recent actions by the U.S. and U.K. in supporting Ukraine’s military. On Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden approved the use of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia. These missiles were used to hit the Bryansk region of Russia just two days later. Similarly, Ukraine reportedly used U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to target Russian positions on Wednesday. These decisions were seen as a direct response to Russia’s increasingly aggressive posture, including reports of North Korean troops being deployed to assist Russian forces in the Kursk region.
Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is campaigning for re-election in 2024, has pledged to end U.S. involvement in foreign wars. Trump has claimed that he could bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to an end within 24 hours, though he has not elaborated on how he would achieve this.
In response to these developments, Putin has escalated tensions further, loosening Russia’s conditions for the potential use of nuclear weapons and ramping up airstrikes against Ukrainian infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russian ground forces continue to make advances in eastern Ukraine, signaling that the war is entering a new and more perilous phase.
As the situation intensifies, the world watches closely, with concerns growing over the potential for further escalation in both the conventional and nuclear realms.
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