Putin Says Russia Fired Ballistic Missile At Ukraine, Warns 'More Could Follow'

Russia launched a new hypersonic missile at Ukraine, said Putin, escalating the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow struck a Ukrainian military facility with a new medium-range, hypersonic ballistic missile, known as "Oreshnik" (the hazel) and warned that more could follow. 

On Thursday, Russia fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The offensive came in response to the US and UK allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons, further escalating the 33-month-old war. 

"A regional conflict in Ukraine previously provoked by the West has acquired elements of a global character, Putin said in a televised address, reported Reuters. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called out the use of the new missile saying it amounted to a "clear and severe escalation" in the war and called for strong worldwide condemnation. 

Russia had notified Washington shortly before it launched the strike, said a US official while another said that the US had briefed Ukraine and allies to prepare for the possible use of such a weapon. 

Initially, Kyiv suggested Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never used before in the war. 

But the US and NATO officials echoed Putin's description of the weapon as an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has a shorter range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,860-3,415 miles).

Tensions have escalated in the past several days as Ukraine fired US and British missiles at targets inside Russia this week despite Moscow's warnings that it would see such action as a major escalation. 

Following Putin's televised address, Zelenskyy took to X and Russia's acknowledgement of the use of the new weapon was another escalation after the deployment of North Korean troops on Russian soil. The Ukrainian President said the Thursday attack was "yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace." 

"The world must respond. Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world ... A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behaviour is acceptable."