Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
NATO and Ukraine to Hold Emergency Talks After Russia's Attack With New Hypersonic Missile
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 months ago on
November 22, 2024

Russia's use of a new hypersonic missile in Ukraine prompts emergency NATO talks and escalates tensions in the ongoing conflict. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

KYIV, Ukraine — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war.

The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.”

Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday’s Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro.

Putin Issues Stark Warning to the West

In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech to his nation that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.

Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia’s bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia.

“The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined,” he said.

Hungary’s Orbán Echoes Moscow’s Talking Points

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow’s talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement.

“These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption … that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.”

Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick… there will be consequences,” he said.

Czech Republic Expresses Support for Ukraine

Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday’s missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.”

At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.”

He underlined that the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine.

Three lawmakers from Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday’s previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv.

In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations “in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added this is not the first time such a threat has been received.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said.

Details of the Oreshnik Missile Attack

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile, whose name in Russian means “hazelnut tree,” was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region, and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. The missile had six nonnuclear warheads each carrying six submunitions and reached a spoeed of Mach 11, it said.

Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.

Thursday’s attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles (6 1/2 kilometers) southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad.

The stricken area was cordoned off and out of public view. With no fatalities reported from the attack, Dnipro residents resorted to dark humor on social media, mostly focused on the missile’s name, Oreshnik.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential district of Sumy overnight with Iranian-designed Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 13, the regional administration said..

Ukraine’s Suspilne media, quoting Sumy regional head Volodymyr Artiukh, said the drones were stuffed with shrapnel elements. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not to destroy objects,” said Artiukh, according to Suspilne.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Dodgers Reward Manager With 4-Year Contract Extension That Runs Through 2029

DON'T MISS

Deals for QBs and Pass Rushers Highlight Start of NFL Free Agency

DON'T MISS

Janz Reveals Treasurer of Group Behind Attack Mailer, Issues $1K Sanction

DON'T MISS

Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Docs

DON'T MISS

House Passes Funding Bill Until September, Senate Outcome Uncertain

DON'T MISS

Education Dept. Plans to Lay Off 1,300 Employees as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down

DON'T MISS

President Trump’s Many Golf Trips Are Costing Taxpayers Millions Per Outing

DON'T MISS

Dogs Suspected of Killing Cats and Terrorizing Fresno-Clovis Are Captured

DON'T MISS

Billy Gunn Not the One as AEW Hits Fresno on Wednesday

DON'T MISS

2 Judges, Appointed by Republicans, Speak Out About Threats Against Federal Judiciary

UP NEXT

Deals for QBs and Pass Rushers Highlight Start of NFL Free Agency

UP NEXT

Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Docs

UP NEXT

House Passes Funding Bill Until September, Senate Outcome Uncertain

UP NEXT

Education Dept. Plans to Lay Off 1,300 Employees as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down

UP NEXT

President Trump’s Many Golf Trips Are Costing Taxpayers Millions Per Outing

UP NEXT

Dogs Suspected of Killing Cats and Terrorizing Fresno-Clovis Are Captured

UP NEXT

Billy Gunn Not the One as AEW Hits Fresno on Wednesday

UP NEXT

2 Judges, Appointed by Republicans, Speak Out About Threats Against Federal Judiciary

UP NEXT

Lake Superior Shipwreck From 1892 Finally Discovered

UP NEXT

US-Ukraine Deal Highlights Ukraine’s Wealth of Critical Minerals

Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Docs

12 hours ago

House Passes Funding Bill Until September, Senate Outcome Uncertain

12 hours ago

Education Dept. Plans to Lay Off 1,300 Employees as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down

12 hours ago

President Trump’s Many Golf Trips Are Costing Taxpayers Millions Per Outing

12 hours ago

Dogs Suspected of Killing Cats and Terrorizing Fresno-Clovis Are Captured

12 hours ago

Billy Gunn Not the One as AEW Hits Fresno on Wednesday

12 hours ago

2 Judges, Appointed by Republicans, Speak Out About Threats Against Federal Judiciary

14 hours ago

Lake Superior Shipwreck From 1892 Finally Discovered

14 hours ago

US-Ukraine Deal Highlights Ukraine’s Wealth of Critical Minerals

14 hours ago

Tiger Woods Ruptured His Achilles Tendon, Likely Causing Him to Miss the Masters

14 hours ago

Dodgers Reward Manager With 4-Year Contract Extension That Runs Through 2029

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dave Roberts has a signed a four-year contract extension to manage the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Dodgers Reward Manager With 4-Year Contract Extension That Runs Through 2029

11 hours ago

Deals for QBs and Pass Rushers Highlight Start of NFL Free Agency

11 hours ago

Janz Reveals Treasurer of Group Behind Attack Mailer, Issues $1K Sanction

12 hours ago

Court Asked to Intervene After Email Tells USAID Workers to Destroy Classified Docs

12 hours ago

House Passes Funding Bill Until September, Senate Outcome Uncertain

12 hours ago

Education Dept. Plans to Lay Off 1,300 Employees as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down

12 hours ago

President Trump’s Many Golf Trips Are Costing Taxpayers Millions Per Outing

After nearly three weeks of tracking, two dogs that terrorized a Clovis-Fresno neighborhood were captured, ending a community-wide effort. (Nextdoor)
12 hours ago

Dogs Suspected of Killing Cats and Terrorizing Fresno-Clovis Are Captured

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend