Ukraine is asking its Western allies for the latest generation of air defense systems to protect itself after the strike of a hypersonic ballistic missile, which Vladimir Putin ordered on Friday to be mass-produced, promising new shots against Moscow's enemies.
Russia said it had struck the city of Dnipro, in Ukraine, on Thursday with this new intermediate-range Orechnik missile (up to 5,500 km), a heavy missile with a strategic vocation but without its nuclear charge and which was fired from the region of Astrakhan (southwest Russia) — a first in this war — cast a chill over Europe.
“The Ukrainian Defense Minister is already in discussions with our partners on new air defense systems — precisely the kind of systems that can protect lives in the face of new risks,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message to his fellow citizens published Friday evening on social networks.
Ukraine is notably equipped with American Patriot systems – with which it claims to have already intercepted several Kinjal hypersonic missiles touted as “invincible” by the Kremlin – and their Franco-Italian equivalent Samp / T, but in too few numbers to protect all its cities.
But Russia once again asserts that with the Orechnik missile it has a device that is impossible to intercept and capable of reaching all countries in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the “power” of this weapon on Friday during a meeting with military officials broadcast on television, and ordered “to begin mass production”.
“We will continue these tests, especially in combat situations, depending on the situation and the nature of the threats to Russia’s security,” he added, raising the threat of new strikes against Ukraine. after it targeted Russian territory this week with American and British missiles.
American President Joe Biden lifted his veto on these shots last weekend, arguing in particular for the mobilization, alongside Russian troops, of North Korean soldiers.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Saturday he expected to see “soon” the approximately 10,000 North Korean troops stationed in Russia's Kursk region fighting the Ukrainian army.
Orbán calls not to minimize
A senior American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, on Friday tempered the threat posed by the new Russian missile, “an experimental weapon of which Russia has a limited number and which it is not able to deploy regularly.”
Moscow's best ally within the European Union, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, for his part, called not to minimize the threats from Russia, a country equipped with “the most destructive weapons in the world”.
Volodymyr Zelensky, however, argued on Friday that Russia's demonstrative use of a missile of this type to strike Ukraine “ridicules the position of states like China, of states in the Global South, of certain leaders who call for retained every time.
In a speech to the nation on Thursday evening, Vladimir Putin placed the responsibility for the escalation on the West. He said the war in Ukraine had taken on a “global character” and threatened to strike countries supplying weapons to kyiv.
NATO and Ukraine are due to meet on Tuesday in Brussels to discuss the situation, with kyiv saying it is waiting for “concrete” decisions from its allies.
“200-300 meters per day”
On the ground, the Russian army has been advancing little by little for months at the cost of heavy losses in eastern Ukraine.
A highly placed source within the Ukrainian general staff notably indicated on Friday that Russian troops were advancing at “200-300 meters per day” near Kurakhové, one of the localities which could soon fall.
Near Pokrovsk, a major logistics hub for Ukrainian forces, the situation is more favorable and “has practically not changed over the last two months”, according to this military source.
The Ukrainian forces, which lack recruits and equipment, also have no intention of withdrawing from the Russian region of Kursk, further north, of which they still control “around 800 km2” since their incursion in August, reported this source.
The deserted Parliament
In kyiv, the Parliament, the Rada, canceled its session due to “signals of an increased risk of attacks against the government district in the days to come”, several deputies explained to AFP.
In the heart of the capital, this district where the presidency, the seat of government and the Central Bank are also located has so far been spared from the bombings.
In Dnipro, a city in central Ukraine of nearly a million inhabitants before the war, which was targeted Thursday by the Orechnik missile strike, residents interviewed Friday by AFP were still in shock, although only accustomed to Russian strikes.
“We are always afraid, but this was different,” said Janna, 49, who works at a market.
The Ukrainian authorities have remained silent on the damage caused. The strike would have targeted a factory of the PivdenMach group which notably produces components for missiles.
AFP journalists were unable to confirm that this factory had indeed been hit.
