Democracy Dies in Darkness

Russia debuts new missile in Ukraine strike as Putin threatens West

The Russian leader warned the United States and allies that the weapon could be deployed against their interests as well.

6 min
The aftermath of a Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Thursday. (Mykola Synelnykov/Reuters)
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KYIV — Russian forces launched a new medium-range ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin announced, issuing a stark warning to the West amid an intensification of cross-border fire at a perilous point in the war.

Putin, in a televised speech late Thursday, said that Russia had employed a medium-range “nonnuclear hypersonic ballistic” missile dubbed “Oreshnik” to strike a military factory in Ukraine’s eastern city of Dnipro. He said the “test” of the weapon was a response to the Biden administration’s recent decision authorizing Ukraine to fire U.S.-made ATACMS missiles, with a range of up 190 miles, into Russia as part of the ongoing war.