(CLO) The Kremlin said on Friday that the attack on Ukraine with a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile was a message to the West that Russia would respond harshly to any "reckless" Western actions in support of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the remarks a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had fired new Oreshnik missiles at a Ukrainian military facility in response to Kiev's attack on Russia with missiles made in the US and the UK.
"The main message is that reckless decisions and actions by Western countries that produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine and then engage in attacks on Russian territory cannot go without a response from Russia," Peskov told reporters.
"The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities and further retaliatory actions in case our concerns are not taken into account have been outlined quite clearly," he said.
An area hit by a Russian missile in Dnipro, Ukraine on November 21, 2024. Photo: Reuters
Russia has a whole arsenal of Oreshniks and will continue testing new missiles.
Moscow said it viewed Ukraine’s firing of ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles at Russia as evidence of direct US and British involvement in the war. Russian officials said the satellite targeting data and actual programming of the missile’s flight path had to be done by NATO personnel because Kiev did not have the capability to do it itself.
President Putin said Russia had attacked a missile and defense enterprise in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, home to the Pivdenmash missile and space company, known to Russians as Yuzhmash.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia will continue testing new hypersonic missiles in combat and has prepared a stockpile of them.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that all of the missile's warheads hit their targets and hailed the first successful use of a medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile carrying a conventional warhead in combat.
Mr Peskov said Russia was technically under no obligation to warn the US about the attack because it was an intermediate-range missile, not an intercontinental one, but he said Moscow had notified the US 30 minutes before launch.
He added that President Putin remained open to dialogue, but the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden “prefers to continue escalation” and urged the administration to heed the warning Putin issued in September.
At the time, the Russian president said the West would fight Russia directly if it allowed Ukraine to attack Russian territory with Western long-range missiles. Peskov said he hoped Washington had received and understood Moscow's message.
Mach 11 missile carrying 6 warheads
The Russian missile that struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday reached a maximum speed of more than 13,000 km/h and took about 15 minutes to reach its target after launch, Ukraine said.
"The flight time of this Russian missile from launch in the Astrakhan region to landing in the city of Dnipro was 15 minutes," the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence (HUR) said in a statement.
An animation from the video shows the Oreshnik missile aiming at its target at super speed and simultaneously launching six warheads.
"The missile is equipped with six warheads: each warhead is equipped with six sub-warheads. The speed at the terminal stage of the trajectory is above Mach 11." Mach is a unit of measurement of hypersonic speed. Mach 11 is equivalent to about 13,600 km/h.
HUR added that the weapon is likely part of the Kedr missile complex, which Deputy Director Vadym Skibitsky told Ukrainian media was related to the Oreshnik system and was first tested in June 2021.
Skibitsky said Russia may have at least 10 such missiles for testing before entering mass production, Ukrinform news agency reported.
Initially, Kiev said Russia had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, but US and NATO officials agreed with Mr Putin's description of the weapon as an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Thursday called on the international community to respond quickly to the attack. A NATO source said on Friday that the military alliance will hold an emergency meeting with Ukraine at its headquarters in Brussels next Tuesday to discuss the Russian attack.
Hoang Anh (according to TASS, Reuters)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nga-tuyen-bo-sieu-ten-lua-oreshnik-bay-toi-13000-km-h-la-loi-canh-bao-phuong-tay-post322497.html
Comment (0)