Putin confirms Russia fired new ballistic missile at Ukraine – POLITICO

President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia fired a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile into Ukraine on Thursday in response to Kyiv’s use of advanced weapons provided by the U.S. and U.K. earlier this week, marking another escalation in the intensifying war.

In a televised statement, the Russian president claimed the new missile, nicknamed "Oreshnik," struck an industrial complex in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Putin said that "as of today there are no means of counteracting such a weapon," asserting that the new missiles move at 2.5-3 kilometers (1.6-1.9 miles) per second — a speed he claimed air defense systems used by the U.S. and Europe "cannot intercept."

Putin also leveled a threat at Ukraine’s backers, saying: "We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities. In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond just as decisively and symmetrically."