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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday (November 21) that Moscow launched a hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile attack on a Ukrainian military facility, warning Western nations that Russia could target military installations of any country whose weapons are used against it.
Putin accused the West of escalating the conflict in Ukraine by supplying Kyiv with long-range missiles, asserting that the war is becoming a global conflict.
In response, Russia has conducted combat tests of its “Oreshnik” hypersonic missile system in Ukraine, Putin said.
“In response to the use of American and British long-range weapons, on November 21 of this year, the Russian armed forces launched a combined strike on one of the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine,” the Russian president said in a suprise address broadcast on state television.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to use the missiles to hit Russian territory earlier this week, after months of demands from Kyiv.
“In combat conditions, one of the newest Russian medium-range missile systems was tested, among other things. In this case, with a ballistic missile in a nuclear-free hypersonic equipment.”
Hypersonic missiles are projectiles that are able to travel at five times the speed of sound.
Ukrainian missile strikes “failed,” Putin claims
Putin also claimed that recent Ukrainian missile strikes on Russian territory, carried out using Western-supplied weapons, were repelled by Russian air-defence systems.
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More Shorts“Our air-defense systems repelled these attacks,” Putin said. “The goals that the enemy obviously set were not achieved.”
The Kremlin leader also warned the conflict had taken on “elements of a global character” and stressed Moscow was ready for “any scenario” in its confrontation with Kyiv and the West.
“In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond just as decisively […] If anyone doubts that, they are wrong. There will always be a response,” Putin said.
With inputs from agencies
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