'The world must respond': Zelenskyy warns that Putin is 'testing' the West after confirmed use of new ballistic missile
by Emma Soteriou · LBCBy Emma Soteriou
Putin is 'testing' the West after using a new ballistic missile against Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned.
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The Russian president confirmed on Thursday that Russia had hit Ukraine with a new "intermediate-range" ballistic missile.
He also issued a chilling warning to the UK and US, saying that Russia could hit the military installations of any country whose weapons were used against it.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Putin was "testing" the West and that it must now step up to the challenge.
"Russia conducted combat tests of the 'Oreshnik' hypersonic missile system in response to the aggressive actions of Nato countries against Russia," Putin said in the video message.
"In response to the use of American and British long-range weapons on 21 November of this year, the Russian armed forces launched a combined strike on one of the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.
"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."
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Responding to the address, Zelenskyy said: "The world must respond. Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world.
"Putin is very sensitive to this. He is testing you, dear partners. It is clear who the sole culprit of this war is—who started it on February 24th and who continues to pour all resources into its continuation. He must be stopped.
"A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behaviour is acceptable. This is what Putin is doing."
It comes after the Russian ambassador to the UK warned that the UK was now "directly involved" in the war.
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Earlier this week, Ukraine used US and UK-supplied long-range missiles in Russian territory.
Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine had hit the country with ATACMS missiles supplied by the US.
Five missiles were shot down and one damaged, with fragments causing a sizeable fire at a military facility in the region, it said in a statement.
A day later, residents in the village of Marino, close to the city of Kursk, claimed to have found fragments of the UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk confirmed to LBC's Andrew Marr that they had been used - but only in internationally-recognised Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia such as Crimea.
Russia went on to fire its missile from a base in the south Russian city of Astrakhan early on Thursday, targeting critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Kyiv’s air force said.
An industrial enterprise was damaged in the attack as well as it causing two fires.
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Russia has since threatened to strike US air bases in Poland with "advanced weapons" as tensions continue to grow.
The new ballistic missile defence base in Redzikowo has been listed to a list of possible targets due to it increasing "the overall level of nuclear danger".
It opened on November 13 as part of a larger Nato missile shield.
"This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilising actions by the Americans and their allies," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
She continued: "The missile defence base in Poland has been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction which, if necessary, can be executed with a wide range of advanced weapons."
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It comes after the US embassy in Kyiv was forced to temporarily close amid concerns of a "significant air attack".
Embassy employees were told to shelter in place if an air alert was announced on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Putin has also signed a new doctrine lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.
The doctrine said any aggression against Russia by a state which was a member of a coalition would be considered by Moscow to be aggression against it by the whole coalition.
Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of the security council, confirmed the decision on Tuesday, tweeting: "Russia's new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia.
"Russia could retaliate with WMD against Kiev and key NATO facilities, wherever they're located. That means World War III."