Russian President Vladimir Putin took credit for the use of a new missile system against Ukraine, warning that further intervention against Russia’s invasion by the United States could result in direct conflict.
The Ukrainian government sounded the alarm on Thursday following a strike on the city of Dnipro with a barrage of eight missiles believed to include an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, but U.S. officials disputed this assessment.
While the Kremlin initially remained quiet following the strike, Putin released a video address hours later, taking credit for the strike and confirming U.S. suspicions that it was conducted with an intermediate-range missile, not an ICBM.
“As a response to the use of U.S. and U.K. manufactured weapons, the Russian forces have carried out a combined strike on one of the military-industrial facilities in Ukraine,” Putin said. “And this included the test of a novel, intermediate-range Russian missile system.”
The Russian president described the new system as “a ballistic missile, with a nonnuclear, hypersonic payload,” and claimed the “test” was “carried out successfully.”
Some confusion remains surrounding the intended target of the launch. Putin claims to have successfully targeted a military complex, while Ukrainian outlets report that the eight missiles hit an industrial facility and rehabilitation center.
The use of the new missile system was a direct response to President Joe Biden’s authorization for the Ukrainian military to use U.S. weapons to fire on military targets deep inside Russian territory.
“Russia has unilaterally refused to deploy intermediate and small range missiles until they’ve seen similar weapons deployed by the United States in a region of the world,” Putin said in his address. “The use of the novel system, which was essentially an operational test, was carried out in response to the decisions made by the United States and their allies.”
He continued, “We believe we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of countries who allow their weapons to be used against ours. And in case of an escalation, we will act as decisively in a mirror fashion.”
The Russian president accused America of “stoking a global conflict” to “preserve their hegemony” by supporting Ukraine against the invasion.
“We have always preferred and still prefer to resolve our disagreements using peaceful means. But we have prepared for any scenario, and if anyone has any doubts, they shouldn’t. There will always be a response,” Putin concluded.
Sabrina Singh, a deputy Pentagon spokeswoman, revealed at a Department of Defense press conference following Putin’s address that the U.S. was “pre-notified briefly before the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels.”
The use of the new missile system and Putin’s direct threat to strike U.S. and U.K. military facilities marks a high point in tensions between Russia and NATO since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
The Kremlin and its foreign diplomats are characterizing the use of U.S. and U.K. weapons on Russian soil as an inarguable entrance into the conflict with serious consequences for the two Western powers.
“Britain and U.K. is now directly involved in this war because this firing cannot happen without NATO staff, British staff as well,” Andrei Kelin, Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom, told Sky News on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a statement following Putin’s address, accusing the leader of recklessly escalating the conflict through his own enlistment of North Korean mercenaries and use of Iranian weapons.
“The use of a ballistic missile against Ukraine today is yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace,” Zelensky said. “Putin lies when he claims that Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons is somehow a new step for us. This is not the first time we have used such weapons, and we have every right to do so under international law.”
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“Our right to self-defense is the same as that of any other nation. When Russian missiles hit our cities, when Iranian ‘Shaheds’ attack Ukraine every night, when a North Korean contingent is deployed on our borders, Putin is not only prolonging the war — he is spitting in the face of those in the world who genuinely want peace to be restored,” he continued.
Zelensky urged the international community to apply pressure against the Kremlin and make Putin “feel the cost of his deranged ambitions.”