The UK Defence Secretary said Putin may have been planning to launch a ballistic missile against Ukraine ‘for months’
RUSSIA used a terrifying new type of weapon in its suspected intercontinental ballistic missile strike against Ukraine, Ukrainian president Zelensky has warned.
Zelensky told his war-embattled nation that despot Vladimir Putin is using Ukraine as a “testing ground” for new weapons.
Kyiv Air Force said today that Russia had launched an ICBM at the city of Dnipro in the early hours of the morning.
If firmed up, it marks the first time the nuclear-capable missile has ever been used as part of an ongoing conflict.
Unverified footage appeared to show warheads from the ferocious R-26 Rubezh raining down on Dnipro overnight, lighting up the sky with explosions.
Zelensky, speaking from his office today in a video posted online, said the attack had “all the characteristics… speed, altitude… of an intercontinental ballistic missile”.
He added: “It is obvious that Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground.
“Expert examinations are underway. It is obvious that Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground.”
And UK PM Keir Starmer blasted depot Putin for his “reckless and escalatory behaviour” after the suspected ICBM strike.
He warned that such a move would take the war to another level, calling claims of their use “deeply concerning”.
Starmer’s official spokesperson said: “If true, clearly, this would be another example of depraved, reckless and escalatory behaviour from Russia.”
ICBMs are designed to carry nuclear warheads and have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres, or 3,400 miles.
The advanced technology is expensive, and possibly used to send a message of intimidation after Kyiv fired a slew of long-range Western missiles at Russia this week.
Sources and experts told AFP it was “obvious” the missile that struck Ukraine did not carry a nuclear charge, bolstering arguments that it was launched for a symbolic, political effect.
Zelensky accused Putin of doing “anything to prevent his neighbour from escaping his grasp” as the war rapidly approaches its third year mark.
“Today, our crazy neighbour has once again shown who he really is and how he despises dignity, freedom and human life in general. And how afraid he is,” the hero premier said.
Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/12942715/russia-ukraine-war-ballistic-missile-new-weapon-zelensky/