Putin vows more tests of hypersonic ‘Oreshnik’
KYIV—Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday promised more combat test-firing of an experimental hypersonic missile launched at Ukraine, as Ukraine appealed for updated air-defense systems to meet the new threat.
The latest statements from the leaders came hours after Ukraine’s parliament shut down over heightened fears of a missile attack.
A day after Moscow fired the new missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Putin said there would be more tests of the new Oreshnik missile.
“We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and character of the security threats posted to Russia,” Putin said in a televised meeting with military chiefs.
Russia would also begin serial production of the experimental weapon, he added.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday it was already looking for updated air-defense systems from its allies in response to the new threat.
‘Calm, restraint’
Earlier Friday, China’s foreign ministry had repeated its call for “calm” and “restraint” in the war after Russia confirmed it had fired the ballistic missile.
In his video address however, Zelenskyy said: “From Russia, this is a mockery of the position of states such as China, states of the Global South, some leaders who call for restraint every time.”
The introduction of the new weapon into the battlefield has further raised tensions in the nearly three-yearlong war, and comes as Kyiv’s forces are struggling on the ground.
On Friday, Russia claimed the capture of another village in eastern Ukraine.
Putin’s hints Thursday of strikes on Western countries raised fears of the war spilling over into a global conflict.
That sent the Russian ruble plunging on Friday to its lowest level against the US dollar since March 2022.
In a hawkish address to the nation on Thursday, Putin said Russia reserved the right to fire missiles at countries that allow Kyiv to hit Russian territory with their weapons, after the United States and the UK gave Kyiv the green light to do so.
Those strikes could be by the new Oreshnik missile.
