Russia could strike countries who let Ukraine use their missiles: Putin

The Russian strike on Ukraine on Thursday came in response to Ukrainian strikes on the Russian territory with U.S. and British missiles earlier this week, Putin said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.

The Russian strike on Ukraine on Thursday came in response to Ukrainian strikes on the Russian territory with U.S. and British missiles earlier this week, Putin said during a nationwide TV address.

Putin declared that Russia would issue advance warnings if it launches more strikes with such missile against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety.

He warned that U.S. air defense systems wouldn’t be capable of intercepting Russian missiles.

Putin’s announcement came hours after Ukraine claimed that Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight at the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. But American officials said an initial U.S. assessment indicated the strike was carried out with an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

Two people were wounded in the attack, and an industrial facility and a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities were damaged, according to local officials.

The attack comes in a week when tensions have repeatedly soared, as the U.S. eased restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American-made longer-range missiles inside Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for launching nuclear weapons.

The Ukrainian air force said in a statement that the attack on Dnipro was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea.