The spokesperson for Russian diplomacy received instructions at a press conference not to comment on the strike against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro which, according to kyiv, was carried out on Thursday with an intercontinental missile.
Maria Zakharova was interrupted by a phone call, according to the official video of this briefing broadcast live on YouTube by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
We then hear a deep voice speaking to him on the line. “Regarding the ballistic missile strike on Yuzhmash (factory), which the West has started talking about. Don’t comment at all,” said his unidentified interlocutor, who did not mention an intercontinental missile.
“Yes, thank you,” replies Maria Zakharova, before hanging up and resuming her press conference.
The Pivdenmash (Yuzhmash in Russian) satellite manufacturing plant is located near the city center of Dnipro in east-central Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Dnipro was targeted Thursday morning by a strike involving several types of Russian missiles including an intercontinental ballistic missile, for the first time in conflict in history.
This weapon is designed to carry nuclear warheads and strike from thousands of kilometers away. Moscow has not yet commented on this accusation: the Russian army has remained silent, as has the Kremlin.
This use, if confirmed, would mark a new escalation, while Russia had said it was preparing an “appropriate” response to Ukraine’s use of Western missiles on Russian territory, which Moscow had described as a red line.
