Putin firing new ballistic missile is ‘severe escalation’ as Nato and Kyiv to meet

Ukraine’s air force initially said the missile was an intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) – the kind that Russia could hit the United States with.

But the US military later said the weapon was an intermediate-range missile (IRBM) based on the design of Russia’s longer-range RS-26 ICBM missile

The Pentagon said it was fired with a conventional warhead but Moscow could modify it if it wanted, with Russia only possessing a handful of them.

“It could be refitted to certainly carry different types of conventional or nuclear warheads,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

A Russian drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two people and injured 12 on Friday morning, regional authorities said.

Twelve apartment buildings, five private residences, a store and three cars were damaged after three drones attacked the city around 5am (0300 GMT), the national police said.

Volodymyr Artiukh, Sumy regional governor, said Russian forces had equipped drones with shrapnel for the attack on a densely populated area of the city.

“This weapon is used exclusively to kill people,” Artiukh said, pointing to scars on a damaged building. “Not for a facility, but in order to destroy more people.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said the Korean Peninsula has never been so close to a nuclear war, after what he described as “aggressive” moves from the US in particular.

“Never before have the warring parties on the Korean Peninsula faced such a dangerous and acute confrontation that it could escalate into the most destructive thermonuclear war,” Kim said.

“We have already gone as far as we can on negotiating with the United States, but what we became certain of from the result is not the superpower’s willingness to coexist, but its thorough stance of power and aggressive and hostile policy toward us that can never change.”

Nato and Ukraine will meet in Brussels, Belgium, next week in response to Moscow’s use of the Oreshnik missile on Dnipro, central Ukraine.

The meeting on Tuesday of the Nato-Ukraine council will happen on ambassadorial level. It was called by Kyiv after the strike on the city of Dnipro.

Russia’s use of a new experimental hypersonic missile is a severe escalation of the conflict, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned.

Zelensky said the attack on Dnipro, central Ukraine, with a medium-range ballistic warhead on Thursday was “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace”.

Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile – which has a range of more than 3,400 miles and can be used to carry nuclear warheads – was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea.

“He is testing you, dear partners. He must be stopped. A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behaviour is acceptable. This is what Putin is doing,” Zelensky said.

“Pressure is needed. Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength,” he added.

President Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck Ukraine with a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile in response to Kyiv’s use of US and British missiles against Russia.

Putin said “Oreshnik” (Hazel tree), one of Russia’s newest intermediate-range missiles, was a hypersonic ballistic missile.

He said it travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and so could not be intercepted. Russian sources said the range was 5,000 km (3,100 miles), allowing Russia to strike most of Europe and the west coast of the United States.

It appears to have multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles: separate warheads able to hit different targets.

Anatoly Matviychuk, a Russian military expert, said it could carry six to eight conventional or nuclear warheads, and was probably already in service, according to Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger.

The Pentagon said the missile that Russia fired was based on the “RS-26 Rubezh” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

It said the US had been notified of the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels.

The RS-26 is a solid-fuelled, road-mobile ballistic missile that entered development in 2008.

The US formally withdrew from the landmark 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia in 2019 after saying that Moscow was violating the accord, an accusation the Kremlin denied.

The US said at the time that Russia was developing a ground-based cruise missile (known as 9M729 in Russia) that was distinct from the RS-26.

The Foreign Secretary has vowed to continue to “do everything that is necessary” to help Ukraine combat Russia after Vladimir Putin threatened strikes on the UK.

The Russian president used a new ballistic missile against Ukraine on Thursday, with Mr Putin claiming the use of the weapon was in response to the UK and US allowing missiles they have supplied to Ukraine to be used to strike targets in Russia.

“We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities,” he said.

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The Home Secretary has said that “we will continue” to see “aggressive language” from Vladimir Putin.

Asked about the Russian leader’s threat to use weapons against nations that allow their own weapons to be used against Russia, Yvette Cooper told Sky News this morning: “Russia invaded a sovereign state.

“We have seen the aggressive, blustering tone and response from Putin all the way through this, it’s completely unacceptable, and we will continue to see that sort of aggressive language.

“We are clear that that sort of behaviour cannot be tolerated, and that’s why we have provided the support to Ukraine as they defend themselves against Putin’s aggression.”

Ms Cooper also declined to officially confirm whether British weapons had been used by Ukraine in Russia, saying: “I’m not going to comment on the detail of any individual defence operations.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken for the first time after Russia is understood to have fired intercontinental ballistic missiles within Ukraine.

In a video, shared on, Zelensky marked Ukraine’s Day of Dignity and Freedom, by labelling Russia an “insane neighbour” who despises “dignity and freedom”.

Zelensky claimed Russia and leader Vladimir Putin are “ that terrified” of Ukraine they are “searching the world for more weapons”.

Zelensky also claimed Putin is using Ukraine as a “testing ground”, before thanking those who are helping his country fight the war against Russia.