Putin says Russia launched experimental hypersonic missile against Ukraine
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Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Russia hit a Ukrainian aerospace plant with an experimental hypersonic missile in the first use of a nuclear-capable weapon against Ukraine.
Speaking in an unscheduled television address, Putin said, "The combat testing of the 'Oreshnik' missile system is being conducted by us in response to NATO's aggressive actions against Russia."
Russia's use of an ICBM follows claims that Ukraine fired both U.S. and British long-range missiles this week after U.S. President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the green light to use Army Tactical Missile Systems to attack deeper within Russian territory.
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According to the Moscow Times, a U.S. official confirmed that Russia launched an "experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile" at Ukraine.
"There was, among other things, a combat-conditions test of one of Russia's newest intermediate-range missile systems," Putin said. "In this case it was a ballistic missile in a non-nuclear hypersonic version."
He said it "was a response to U.S. plans to produce and deploy intermediate- and short-range missiles" to support Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion and occupation.
Putin said Russia will issue notifications before using the weapon.
"We will do it due to humanitarian concerns -- openly, publicly, without any concerns about any countermeasures from the enemy, who will also receive this information," Putin said.
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Russia claimed no countermeasures exist for the "Oreshnik" missile.
Putin also asserted a right to attack western countries that give Ukraine long-range defense weapons to counter Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He said Russia would respond to further "escalation"
At least two people were injured in the central-eastern city of Dnipro on Thursday morning after the Ukrainian Air Force said the city had been attacked with a Russian ICBM.
An industrial enterprise was damaged and two fires broke out in the city, said Dnipro Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak while city mayor Boris Filatov said in a social media update that a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities had been struck.
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"The boiler room was destroyed and the windows were blown out. Information about people is being clarified," said Filatov.
The ICBM was launched from Russia's southeastern Astrakhan region as part of an airborne assault between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time comprising seven cruise missiles launched from Tu-95 strategic bombers and an aeroballistic missile fired from a MiG-31k fighter jet, Ukraine's Air Force said in a statement on social media.
Six cruise missiles were downed by air defenses, according to the air force which did not state whether the injuries or damage were caused by the ICBM.
Traveling at up to 17,000 mph and with a range of at least 3,400 miles during which they go sub-orbital, ICBMs can be configured to deliver nuclear or conventional warheads.
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At least 15 people, including two boys aged 16 and 17, were injured in Russian missile strikes on Kryvyi Rih, 90 miles to the southwest of Dnipro. Nine people were hospitalized including the 17-year-old boy, Lysak said in an update on his social media account.
Among those injured were a 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman who were being treated in the hospital where they were reported to be in moderate condition, according to Lysak.
"The attack partially destroyed an administration building. Two two-story residential buildings were damaged. We are clarifying the details," wrote Lysak.
Biden had been reluctant to sign off on Ukraine using ATACMS to attack deeper into Russian territory over fears of escalating the war.
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ATACMS missiles were first used in the theater Tuesday, according to Russia. Ukraine this week also fired British-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, The Guardian reported, citing unnamed sources.
The report cited unconfirmed photos circulating on social media purportedly showing Storm Shadow missile fragments in Russia's Kursk region.