Vladimir Putin confirms the firing of an experimental missile on Dnipro, in response to the “escalation” in a now “global” conflict

The Russian president spoke after this shot, which raised questions and contradictions, on Thursday. He thus denied that it was an intercontinental projectile.

Vladimir Putin answered the questions. Lhe Russian president affirmed, during a short televised speech on Thursday, November 21, that Russia had struck Ukraine, on the city of Dnipro, with a ” non-nuclear hypersonic ballistic missile” medium range. This is a “test missile Oreshnik”he clarified. Vladimir Putin indicated that the latest Russian missiles attack their targets at a speed of 2 to 3 km per second, and that current air defense systems are incapable of intercepting them. The Kremlin leader added that Ukrainian civilians would be informed in advance when such missiles are used in the future.

The extent of the damage after the Russian ballistic missile was fired in Dnipro was not immediately clear. Two people were injured in the area by Russian strikes on Thursday, according to regional governor Serguii Lyssak.

Ukraine had earlier accused Russia of hitting it in Dnipro using a missile with “all” the characteristics of an intercontinental missile devoid of its nuclear warhead, a first in history constituting an unprecedented escalation of war and Russian-Western tensions.

In his address to the nation lasting less than ten minutes, Vladimir Putin denounced the two strikes carried out in recent days by Ukraine on Russian territory using American ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles. “The conflict in Ukraine has now taken on global characteristics”, he estimated, warning that “Russia will react[it] resolutely to this escalation” and that he did not rule out striking countries whose weapons are used by Ukraine in Russia.