Russia’s use of a new experimental hypersonic missile is a severe escalation of the conflict, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned.
Zelensky said the attack on Dnipro, central Ukraine, with a medium-range ballistic warhead on Thursday was “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace”.
Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile – which has a range of more than 3,400 miles and can be used to carry nuclear warheads – was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea.
In response, Nato and Ukraine will meet in Brussels, Belgium, next week to discuss Moscow’s use of the Oreshnik missile.
“He is testing you, dear partners. 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,” Zelensky said.
“Pressure is needed. Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength,” he added.
Vladimir Putin said the missile travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and so could not be intercepted - allowing Russia to strike most of Europe and the west coast of the United States.
Key Points
- Putin firing new ballistic missile is ‘severe escalation’
- Nato and Kyiv to meet next week amid missile attack
- Ukrainian parliament postpones sitting today over security risk
- Zelensky urges world to condemn Putin’s ‘brutality’
- Britain directly involved in Ukraine war, Russian ambassador says
Nato and Kyiv to meet next week
09:31
Alexander Butler
Nato and Ukraine will meet in Brussels, Belgium, next week in response to Moscow’s use of the Oreshnik missile on Dnipro, central Ukraine.
The meeting on Tuesday of the Nato-Ukraine council will happen on ambassadorial level. It was called by Kyiv after the strike on the city of Dnipro.
Putin firing new ballistic missile is ‘severe escalation’
09:29
Alexander Butler
Russia’s use of a new experimental hypersonic missile is a severe escalation of the conflict, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned.
Zelensky said the attack on Dnipro, central Ukraine, with a medium-range ballistic warhead on Thursday was “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace”.
Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile – which has a range of more than 3,400 miles and can be used to carry nuclear warheads – was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea.
“He is testing you, dear partners. 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,” Zelensky said.
“Pressure is needed. Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength,” he added.
What is Russia's 'Oreshnik' missile?
09:02
Tara Cobham
President Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck Ukraine with a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile in response to Kyiv's use of US and British missiles against Russia.
What is the missile?
Putin said "Oreshnik" (Hazel tree), one of Russia’s newest intermediate-range missiles, was a hypersonic ballistic missile.
He said it travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and so could not be intercepted. Russian sources said the range was 5,000 km (3,100 miles), allowing Russia to strike most of Europe and the west coast of the United States.
It appears to have multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles: separate warheads able to hit different targets.
Anatoly Matviychuk, a Russian military expert, said it could carry six to eight conventional or nuclear warheads, and was probably already in service, according to Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger.
The Pentagon said the missile that Russia fired was based on the "RS-26 Rubezh" intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
It said the US had been notified of the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels.
What is the RS-26?
The RS-26 is a solid-fuelled, road-mobile ballistic missile that entered development in 2008.
The US formally withdrew from the landmark 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia in 2019 after saying that Moscow was violating the accord, an accusation the Kremlin denied.
The US said at the time that Russia was developing a ground-based cruise missile (known as 9M729 in Russia) that was distinct from the RS-26.
UK Foreign Secretary vows to ‘do everything that is necessary’ to help Ukraine
08:38
Tara Cobham
The Foreign Secretary has vowed to continue to “do everything that is necessary” to help Ukraine combat Russia after Vladimir Putin threatened strikes on the UK.
The Russian president used a new ballistic missile against Ukraine on Thursday, with Mr Putin claiming the use of the weapon was in response to the UK and US allowing missiles they have supplied to Ukraine to be used to strike targets in Russia.
“We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities,” he said.
Read the full report here:
UK Home Secretary says ‘we will continue’ to see ‘aggressive language’ from Putin
08:21
Tara Cobham
The Home Secretary has said that "we will continue" to see "aggressive language" from Vladimir Putin.
Asked about the Russian leader's threat to use weapons against nations that allow their own weapons to be used against Russia, Yvette Cooper told Sky News this morning: "Russia invaded a sovereign state.
"We have seen the aggressive, blustering tone and response from Putin all the way through this, it's completely unacceptable, and we will continue to see that sort of aggressive language.
"We are clear that that sort of behaviour cannot be tolerated, and that's why we have provided the support to Ukraine as they defend themselves against Putin's aggression."
Ms Cooper also declined to officially confirm whether British weapons had been used by Ukraine in Russia, saying: "I'm not going to comment on the detail of any individual defence operations."
Zelensky hits out at ‘insane neighbour’ Russia as he claims Putin is ‘searching world for more weapons’
08:00
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken for the first time after Russia is understood to have fired intercontinental ballistic missiles within Ukraine.
In a video, shared on, Zelensky marked Ukraine’s Day of Dignity and Freedom, by labelling Russia an “insane neighbour” who despises “dignity and freedom”.
Zelensky claimed Russia and leader Vladimir Putin are “ that terrified” of Ukraine they are “searching the world for more weapons”.
Zelensky also claimed Putin is using Ukraine as a “testing ground”, before thanking those who are helping his country fight the war against Russia.
Putin sends warning to ‘ruling elites’ after Russia tests new missile in Ukraine strike
07:30
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin sent a warning to “ruling elites” and confirmed Russia has tested a new intermediate range missile in a strike on Ukraine.
In a nationwide TV address on Thursday (21 November), the Russian president added that Moscow could use it against countries that allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Mr Putin said Thursday’s strike on Ukraine was in response to Ukrainian strikes on the Russian territory in which US and British missiles were used earlier this week.
Putin says Ukraine war is going global
07:16
Arpan Rai
Ukraine war was escalating towards a global conflict after the United States and Britain allowed Ukraine to hit Russia with their weapons, Vladimir Putin said yesterday in his address as he warned the West that Moscow could strike back.
Russia, Mr Putin said, had responded to the use of US and British missiles by firing a new kind of hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile at a Ukrainian military facility. More could follow, Mr Putin warned. He said civilians would be warned ahead of further strikes with such weapons.
The United States, he said, was pushing the world towards a global conflict.
'Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow missiles will not turn war’
07:00
Barney Davis
The West relaxing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons may boost Kyiv but will likely do little to transform the battlefield situation, analysts said, despite the dire nature of the Kremlin’s rhetorical reaction.
“At this stage in the war, the risk of Russian nuclear use is lower than before. Political and battlefield developments favour Russia, so there is little to gain by escalating the conflict to the nuclear level,” said Alexander Bollfrass, head of strategy, technology and arms control at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.
He also pointed to the diplomatic drawbacks.
“Nuclear weapons use would risk alienating China and other non-Western countries whose support or neutrality is key to maintaining the Russian war economy,” Bollfrass told NBC News in an email Wednesday. “It would also get the relationship with the incoming Trump administration off to a very dangerous start.”
Putin says Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine
06:39
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin has claimed Moscow launched a new hypersonic ballistic missile against Ukraine in response to strikes by Kyiv inside Russia using UK and US long-range missiles.
The Russian leader said the Oreshnik, or Hazel, medium-range missile had been used in some of its latest strikes. Earlier, Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro – the first recorded use of the weapon during the war.
Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile – which has a range of more than 3,400 miles and can be used to carry nuclear warheads – was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea. However, American officials said an initial US assessment indicated the strike was carried out with an intermediate-range ballistic missile which cannot travel so far, something backed by Putin’s remarks.
Alex Croft reports:
Jeremy Kyle cuts off caller who ‘defends’ Putin in heated live interview clash
06:00
Barney Davis
Britain now directly involved in Ukraine war, Russian ambassador says
05:33
Arpan Rai
The UK and Britain are now “directly involved” in the Ukraine war as party after its Storm Shadow missiles used to strike targets inside Russia have dragged it in the conflict, Moscow’s ambassador has warned.
“Absolutely, Britain and UK is now directly involved in this war, because this firing cannot happen without Nato staff, British staff as well,” ambassador Anrei Kelin told Sky News.
“The US administration, support by France and the UK, has made a deliberate decision to make these strikes, which seriously escalates the situation, and it can bring a collision between the nuclear powers,” he said.
The Russian diplomat also called it “deliberate cheating of us”, claiming he was told that the British missiles would only be used inside Ukraine territory.
UN chief calls for de-escalation in Ukraine war after Putin fires new missile
05:09
Arpan Rai
The United Nations chief has called on all parties in the Ukraine war to de-escalate the conflict after Russian president Vladimir Putin fired a new missile in Dnipro.
Russia’s use of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile was “yet another concerning and worrying development,” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson said.
“All of this [is] going in the wrong direction,” his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said as he called on all parties to de-escalate the conflict and “to protect civilians, not hit civilian targets or critical civilian infrastructure”.
Nato says Putin’s new missile won’t deter West’s support for Kyiv
05:01
Arpan Rai
Russia is seeking to “terrorise” civilians and intimidate Ukraine’s allies with its new missile, Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said .
“Deploying this capability will neither change the course of the conflict nor deter Nato allies from supporting Ukraine,” Ms Dakhlallah said.
UK signs security pact with Moldova
05:00
Barney Davis
The UK has signed a new security and defence partnership agreement with Moldova, as Ukraine’s western neighbour anxiously eyes Russia’s nearby invasion and accuses Moscow of meddling in its elections.
Pro-European president Maia Sandu won re-election last month, but by a smaller margin than expected, as a tiny margin of Moldovan voters backed a referendum to alter the constitution to include provisions on integration with the European Union, presented by premier Dorin Recean on Wednesday.
A UK government statement said the security partnership was aimed at “building on extensive cooperation between the two countries and strengthening Moldovan resilience against external threats”. Foreign secretary David Lammy said: “With Ukraine next door, Moldovans are constantly reminded of Russia’s oppression, imperialism and aggression.”
The deal included £2m to bolster Moldova’s protection against cyberattacks and a £5m grant to improve health services for refugees, as well as an agreement to ensure the return to Moldova of its nationals illegally staying in Britain.
Ukrainian parliament postpones sitting today over security risk
04:43
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s parliament has postponed a sitting due to have taken place today out of security concerns, public broadcaster Suspilne reported last night, quoting sources.
“On 22 November, plans called for a session of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), which included questions to the government, but this was cancelled for reasons of potential security issues,” Suspilne said.
It said the order told members to keep their families out of Kyiv’s government district and quoted parliamentarians as saying that, for the moment, the next sitting was not scheduled until December.
The postponement occurred after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck the central city of Dnipro with a new medium-range hypersonic missile in response to Ukrainian use of Western missiles on targets in Russia.
Mr Putin suggested more could follow “in case of escalation of aggressive actions”.
Military experts decode Putin’s new missile Orshenik: ‘Taunting his enemy’
04:30
Arpan Rai
Russia was sending a message by attacking Ukraine with an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of releasing multiple warheads at extremely high speeds, even if they are less accurate than cruise missiles or short-range ballistic missiles, said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank.
“Why might you use it therefore?” Mr Savill said. “Signaling — signaling to the Ukrainians. We’ve got stuff that outrages you. But really signaling to the West ‘We’re happy to enter into a competition around intermediate range ballistic missiles. P.S.: These could be nuclear tipped. Do you really want to take that risk?’”
Military experts say that modern inter-continental ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles are extremely difficult to intercept, although Ukraine has previously claimed to have stopped some other weapons that Russia described as “unstoppable,” including the air-launched Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
David Albright, of the Washington-based think tank the Institute for Science and International Security, said he was “skeptical” of Mr Putin’s claim, adding that Russian technology sometimes “falls short.”
He suggested Mr Putin was “taunting the West to try to shoot it down... like a braggart boasting, taunting his enemy.”
Orshenik: All you need to know about Putin’s new missile
04:21
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin announced the Kremlin fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile named “Orshenik” at Ukraine on Thursday in response to Kyiv’s use this week of American and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia.
Orshenik, Russian for hazelnut tree, he said flies at ten times the speed of sound and the US air defence systems will be powerless to stop the new missiles.
Mr Putin said it could be used to attack any Ukrainian ally whose missiles are used to attack Russia. The Russian leader said he will issue advance warnings if Moscow launches more strikes with the Oreshnik against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety — something Moscow hasn’t done before previous aerial attacks.
Two lions from wartorn Ukraine arrive at their new home
04:00
Barney Davis
Two lionesses which were rescued from a conflict zone in Ukraine have arrived at their new home in Scotland.
Luna and Plusza, both aged four, arrived at the Five Sisters Zoo, West Calder, West Lothian, on Wednesday night.
The lionesses were rescued from an area affected by heavy shelling in eastern Ukraine in 2022, before being moved through Kyiv, Poland, and Belgium to reach the safety of Scotland.
North Korean leader says past diplomacy only confirmed US hostility
03:59
Arpan Rai
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward Pyongyang and described his nuclear buildup as the only way to counter external threats, state media said Friday.
Mr Kim spoke on Thursday at a defence exhibition where North Korea displayed some of its most powerful weapons systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the US mainland, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said. While meeting with army officers last week, he had pledged a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program.
Zelensky says Putin escalating war with ‘deranged ambitions’
03:27
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky said Vladimir Putin is escalating the war, testing Ukraine’s partners and contradicting peace efforts by China, Brazil, the US and European allies. The Ukrainian leader said Mr Putin “must feel the cost of his deranged ambitions” and forced into real peace.
“Today, Putin admitted to taking a second step this year toward escalating and expanding this war. A new ballistic missile was used. Putin struck our city of Dnipro, one of Ukraine’s largest cities,” Mr Zelensky said, calling it “a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war”
“Let me emphasise: this is already Russia’s second step toward escalation this year. The first was involving North Korea in the war against Ukraine with a contingent of at least 11,000 soldiers,” he said.
“Putin has taken both of these steps while ignoring everyone in the world who is calling for no further expansion of the war. He disregards calls from China, Brazil, European countries, the United States, and others. Putin alone started this war—an entirely unprovoked war—and he is doing everything to prolong it, now for over a thousand days,” he said in post on X.
Putin said he fired a new missile Oreshnik yesterday which struck a well-known missile factory in Dnipro. He also said Russia would issue advance warnings if it launches more strikes with the Oreshnik against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety — something Moscow hasn’t done before previous aerial attacks.
North Korean general injured in Ukraine’s British Storm Shadow missile attack – WSJ
03:10
Arpan Rai
A high-ranking North Korean General is reportedly injured in a recent Ukrainian strike in Russia’s Kursk region, Western officials said yesterday.
This is the first casualty of a senior North Korean military officer in the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to the Western officials, reported The Wall Street Journal. Ukraine launched at least 10 British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Kursk on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.
It is not immediately clear how the senior North Korean officer was wounded or his identity.
The US had declared that the North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine will become “fair game and fair targets for the Ukrainians” in October, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council had said last month after the troubling intelligence confirmed Pyongyang was sending its troops to fight in the war.
ICYMI: Germany says sabotage behind cutting of telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea
03:00
Barney Davis
The damage of two undersea internet cables in the Baltic sea must be seen as an act of sabotage, German defence minister Boris Pistorius has said.
A pair of fibre-optic communications cables were severed on Sunday and Monday, in an incident which “immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage”, Finland and Germany said in a joint statement.
A 745-mile (1,200 kilometre) cable linking Helsinki to the German port of Rostock stopped working at 2am on Monday, according to Finnish state-controlled cyber security and telecoms company Cinia.
Another cable linking Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island went out of service at 8am on Monday, according to a Lithuanian communications firm.
My colleague Alex Croft has the full report:
Pentagon confirms new Russian missile used in attacking Ukraine
02:51
Arpan Rai
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed that Russia’s missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate range missile based on it’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.“This was new type of lethal capability that was deployed on the battlefield, so that was certainly of concern,” Ms Singh said, noting that the missile could carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. The UD was notified ahead of the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels, she said.
The Kremlin fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine yesterday in response to Kyiv’s use this week of American and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia, president Vladimir Putin said.
UK-trained elite commandos approached to fight for Russia against Ukraine
02:00
Barney Davis
For Ghulam, it began with a form handed to him by a colleague, offering him a way out. For more than 12 years, he had been part of an elite troop of Afghan special forces set up, trained and paid by the British government.
Now, after being forced to flee the Taliban and leave his homeland for Iran, he worked long days in a recycling factory and had to evade police because of his undocumented status.
The fellow Afghan who gave Ghulam the form knew of his military background and thought he might be open to an offer. For some in Ghulam’s situation, a form comes first; for others, it’s contact by phone from other Afghan veterans.
Some have been approached face to face. However it’s done, and whatever the terms, the offer to these elite UK-trained commandos is broadly the same: come to fight for Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces against Ukraine.
Slovakia analysing US sanctions against Gazprombank, economy ministry says
01:00
Barney Davis
Slovakia’s Economy Ministry is analysing new U.S. sanctions against Gazprombank and will know their potential impact on Slovakia soon, the ministry said on Thursday.
Slovakia’s state-owned gas buyer SPP has a long-term contract with Gazprom and continues to buy Russian gas.
Storm Shadows undermine Putin’s narrative that Russia and NATO are at war
00:01
Barney Davis
Analysts and observers say that the loosening of restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western missiles is unlikely to change the the course of the war, but it puts the Russian army in a more vulnerable position and could complicate the logistics that are crucial in warfare.
“It is an important move and it pulls against, undermines the narrative that Putin had been trying to establish that it was fine for Russia to rain down Iranian drones and North Korean missiles on Ukraine but a reckless escalation for Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons at legitimate targets in Russia,” said Peter Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser who now sits in the House of Lords.
Full report: Putin says Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine
Thursday 21 November 2024 23:31
Andy Gregory
Vladimir Putin has claimed Moscow launched a new hypersonic ballistic missile against Ukraine in response for long-range strikes by Kyiv inside Russia using UK and US long-range missiles.
The Russian leader said the “Oreshnik,” or Hazel, medium-range missile had been used in some of its latest strikes. Earlier, Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro - in what would be the first recorded use of the weapon during war
Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile - that has a range of more than 3,400 miles and can be used to carry nuclear warheads - was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea. However, American officials said an initial US assessment indicated the strike was carried out with an intermediate-range ballistic missile which cannot travel so far, something backed by Putin’s remarks.
My colleague Alex Croft has the full report:
Defence secretary warns Ukraine’s front line is not stable
Thursday 21 November 2024 23:00
Barney Davis
While refusing to confirm whether the UK had given permission for long range missiles to be fired by Ukraine into Russian territory, Defence secretary John Healey expressed little surprise at the reports Russia had fired a new ballistic missile at the country.
He told MPs: “There are unconfirmed media reports today of Russia firing a new ballistic missile into Ukraine which we know they have been preparing for months.”
He warned: “This is a serious time. Intelligence reveals that the frontline is less stable than at any time since the Russian invasion in 2022.
“We have seen in recent weeks a very clear escalation from Putin and his forces. They have stepped up attacks on energy systems in Ukraine, ahead of winter. They have stepped up attacks on civilian centres, killing children. At least 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to the front line.”
Watch: Russia spokesperson takes phone call during presser telling her not to comment on strike
Thursday 21 November 2024 22:44
Andy Gregory
Biden changed course on ATACMS after North Korea entered Ukraine war, officials say
Thursday 21 November 2024 22:29
Andy Gregory
Joe Biden dropped his opposition to Ukraine firing US missiles at on Russian territory in response to North Korea’s entry to the war, in a shift which took on extra urgency following Donald Trump’s election victory, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
Moscow’s decision to deploy North Korean soldiers to Russia’s Kursk region represented a major escalation that demanded a response, a senior US official and two other sources familiar with the matter said.
Mr Trump’s victory added pressure on the Biden Administration to loosen the rules on the use of the weapons and take other steps to bolster Ukraine as it suffers repeated setbacks on the battlefield, according to two other sources familiar with the matter.
Easing controls on the use of the missiles was intended to send a message to the North Koreans and Russians that the shift was unacceptable, as well as hamper their efforts to push Ukrainians out of Kursk, a senior US official familiar with the administration’s thinking said.
The official acknowledged that relaxing the restrictions risked a further escalation of the conflict – but noted that Russia has so far taken no action against states other than Ukraine, while a congressional aide told the news agency that they believed the new policy only applied to the Kursk region.
Zelensky warns Putin’s new missile strike a ‘severe escalation in brutality of Russia’s war’
Thursday 21 November 2024 22:18
Andy Gregory
Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia’s attack on Ukraine using a new type of hypersonic mid-range ballistic missile was a “severe escalation” of the brutality of Vladimir Putin’s war.
“This is a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war,” Zelenskiy wrote on X, referring to the strike on the central city of Dnipro. “The use of a ballistic missile against Ukraine today is yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace.”
He added: “Putin is not only prolonging the war – he is spitting in the face of those in the world who genuinely want peace to be restored.
“The world must respond. Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world ... A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behavior is acceptable.”
Moscow becoming reckless says Number 10
Thursday 21 November 2024 22:00
Barney Davis
Russia’s alleged use of a long-range ballistic missile for the first time in its war with Ukraine is “another example of reckless behaviour” by Moscow, Downing Street has said.
Asked if he could confirm reports an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) had been used by Russia in Ukraine, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “My understanding is that it is the first time that Russia has used a ballistic missile in Ukraine with a range of several thousand kilometres.
“This is obviously deeply concerning. It is another example of reckless behaviour from Russia, which only serves to strengthen our resolve in terms of standing by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Initial unconfirmed reports from Ukraine had suggested the weapon was an ICBM, but No 10 was cautious not to use this term for a specific type of weapon.
Watch: Putin says Russia tested new intermediate range missile in strike on Ukraine
Thursday 21 November 2024 21:41
Andy Gregory
US was notified by Russia before Thursday missile strike on Ukraine, official briefs
Thursday 21 November 2024 21:24
Andy Gregory
The United States was pre-notified by Russia shortly before its strike with an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro through nuclear risk reduction channels, a US official has told Reuters.
“The US was pre-notified briefly before the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels,” the official said.
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile?
Thursday 21 November 2024 21:00
Barney Davis
Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French cruise missile with a maximum range of around 155 miles (250km). The French call it Scalp.
After launch, the weapon, equipped with its navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infra-red seeker. On the final approach, the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.
On impact, it penetrates the target before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead. Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg Storm Shadow travels at speeds of more than 600mph, is just over five metres long and has a wingspan of three metres.
My colleagues Arpan Rai and Rachel Hagan have more details in this report:
US is aware of Russia's launch of intermediate-range ballistic missile, White House says
Thursday 21 November 2024 20:41
Andy Gregory
The United States is aware of Russia's launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine, and had briefed Ukraine and allies in recent days to help them prepare, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has told reporters.
Analysis | From Poland’s ‘iron dome’ to boots on the ground: How Europe is preparing for a Third World War
Thursday 21 November 2024 20:24
Andy Gregory
More than 900 miles from London, frenetic activity is underway in the countryside of Poland, Finland, and the Baltic States: bulldozers and diggers are constructing field defences. Anti-tank ditches, tank traps, and pillboxes are being built and installed. In all these countries, laying minefields – even controversial anti-personnel minefields – is under active consideration.
Poland is spending at least €2.5bn (£2.1bn) on its border defence system, including building a sky shield system akin to Israel’s “Iron Dome” to protect its eastern border from a growing threat from Russia. Poland’s defence project includes physical anti-tank obstacles, bunkers, and AI-powered anti-drone technologies to create early threat detection and surveillance systems.
Meanwhile, in response to the “hybrid war” tactics on several Baltic fronts, hundreds of millions of euros are being invested by the Baltic states to strengthen their defence lines with another major project, planned by Nato members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, set to begin in 2025.
And what is the UK’s response to an increasing global threat? The country is scrapping £500m worth of military equipment – ships, drones, and helicopters – and will conduct a strategic defence review to decide what to do next.
Francis Tusa has more analysis here:
How can Ukraine defend itself from ICBMs?
Thursday 21 November 2024 20:00
Barney Davis
Ukraine uses a Patriot missile defense system supplied by the US and Germany to intercept incoming ballistic missile warheads, according to the Missile Threat Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Patriot system blows incoming warheads out of the sky, either with an exploding warhead of its own, or with kinetic interceptors ussng so-called “hit-to-kill” technology.
Patriot interceptors have a vertical range of about 12 areas and defend an area of about 10 miles around the battery.
They are limited in number so cities, like the capital Kyiv, enjoy greater protection than others.
UK counts 700,000 Russian casualties in 1,000 days of war
Thursday 21 November 2024 19:01
Andy Gregory
Ukraine in most perilous state yet as UK minister says Russia’s been planning new ballistic missile for months
Thursday 21 November 2024 18:40
Barney Davis
The defence secretary has admitted that the UK and her allies have known “for months” that Russia has been planning to use a new intercontinental ballistic missile as he warned about the fragile state of Ukraine’s frontline.
John Healey gave his warning to the Commons defence select committee where he was making his first apearance since Labour took power in July.
He was speaking at the same time as Sir Keir Starmer pushed back on claims the much-delayed decision to allow Ukraine to strike at Russian forces with storm shadow missiles was a reaction to Donald Trump‘s election as US president.
No 10 condemns Putin’s ‘reckless behaviour’ after mid-range ballistic missile strike on Ukraine
Thursday 21 November 2024 18:18
Andy Gregory
Downing Street has condemned Russia’s “reckless” behaviour after Vladimir Putin fired a hypersonic mid-range ballistic missile into Ukraine for the first time, and threatened to do the same to Western nations allowing Kyiv to fire long-range missiles into Russia.
Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said: “My understanding is that it is the first time that Russia has used a ballistic missile in Ukraine with a range of several thousand kilometres.”
No 10 said it was “an example of escalatory behaviour from Russia”.
But the Prime Minister’s spokesman added it “only serves to strengthen our resolve and to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to act in self-defence against Russia’s reckless and illegal invasion”.
Issuing his threat to the West, Mr Putin declared that Russia would issue advance warnings before strikes on other countries to allow civilians to evacuate to safety.
Putin says Russia tested new hypersonic mid-range ballistic missile in Ukraine
Thursday 21 November 2024 17:59
Andy Gregory
Vladimir Putin has said that Russia used a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile to attack a Ukrainian military facility – contradicting fears in Kyiv that Moscow had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier accused Mr Putin’s forces of using his country as a missile testing ground, after he warned that Russia had struck Dnipro with a missile “matching the speed and altitude” of an ICBM.
While that would have marked the first time Moscow had used such missiles in Ukraine, Mr Putin said later on Thursday in a nationwide TV address that Russia had actually conducted combat tests of the mid-range “Oreshnik” hypersonic missile system, in a strike he framed as a warning to the West.
With tensions escalating, Mr Putin said the Oreshnik had been fired in response to the aggressive actions of Nato countries, after Ukraine used US and British-made long-range missiles to strike targets on internationally recognised Russian territory for the first time this week.
What is an ICBM and how many does Russia have?
Thursday 21 November 2024 17:50
Barney Davis
As Ukraine deals with a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) strike on the city of Dnipro, the West has been quick to downplay the use of the long-range and difficult-to-detect warheads amid fears it could escalate the conflict.But what are they and how dangerous could they be for the human race?
Barney Davis explains:
Russia fired intermediate-range missile, not ICBM, at Ukraine, US says
Thursday 21 November 2024 16:56
Barney Davis
Russia fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile, not an ICBM, during an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, a US official told Reuters, contradicting the official account from Ukraine.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the assessment was based on initial analysis.