KYIV—Russia fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday in response to the United States and UK’s allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons, in a further escalation of the 33-month-old war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, 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. He said civilians would be warned ahead of further strikes with such weapons.
After approval from the administration of President Joe Biden, Ukraine struck Russia with six U.S.-made ATACMS on Nov. 19 and with British Storm Shadow missiles and U.S.-made HIMARS on Nov. 21, Putin said.
“From that moment, a regional conflict in Ukraine previously provoked by the West has acquired elements of a global character,” Putin said in an address to the nation carried by state television after 8 p.m. in Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said use of the new missile amounted to “a clear and severe escalation” in the war and called for strong worldwide condemnation.
A U.S. official said Russia notified Washington shortly before its strike, while another official said the United States had briefed Kyiv and allies to prepare for the possible use of such a weapon.
Kyiv initially suggested Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never before used in war.
But U.S. officials and NATO echoed Putin’s description of the weapon as an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has a shorter range of 1,860–3,415 miles.
Tensions have spiked in the past several days. Ukraine fired U.S. and British missiles at targets inside Russia this week despite Moscow’s warnings that it would see such action as a major escalation.
Zelenskyy, writing on X after Putin’s television appearance, said Russia’s acknowledgement it used the new weapon was another escalation after deployment of North Korean troops on Russian soil. Thursday’s attack, Zelenskyy said, 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 behavior is acceptable.”
Ukraine’s air force said the missile targeted Dnipro in central-eastern Ukraine and was fired from the Russian region of Astrakhan, more than 435 miles away.
Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at Oslo University who specializes in missile technology and nuclear strategy, said the most significant aspect of the weapon was that it carried a MIRVed (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle) payload.
Russia chose the weapon “for signaling purposes,” he said. “This payload is exclusively associated with nuclear-capable missiles.”
Russia also fired a Kinzhal hypersonic missile and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles, six of which were shot down, the Ukrainian air force said.
The attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in Dnipro, the air force said. Dnipro was a missile-making centre in the Soviet era. Ukraine has expanded its military industry during the war but keeps its whereabouts secret.
Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said the attack damaged an industrial enterprise and set off fires in Dnipro. Two people were hurt.
Public broadcaster Suspilne said a Ukrainian parliamentary sitting scheduled for Friday had been postponed due to security concerns with no more sittings planned until December.