President Putin Says Orestnik Hypersonic Ballistic Missile Hits Ukrainian Military Facilities

Russia fired ballistic missiles at Dnipro, hitting Ukraine's military target on Thursday, after the United States and Britain allowed Ukraine to attack Russia with Western weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, said Moscow attacked Ukrainian military facilities with a new medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile known as "Oreshnik", warning more would follow.

"Russia hit a Ukrainian aerospace factory called Yuzhmash with a hypersonic ballistic missile carrying a non-nuclear warhead," President Putin said, quoted by TASS.

"The regional conflict in Ukraine, which was previously provoked by the West, has gained elements of global character," President Putin said in a speech broadcast by state television after 8 p.m. in Moscow.

Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the use of the new missile was a "clear and severe escalation" in the war and called for strong criticism from around the world.

Meanwhile, a US official said Russia alerted Washington shortly before its attack, while other officials said the US had briefed Kyiv and its allies to prepare for the possible use of such weapons.

Kyiv initially suspected Russia fired intercontinental ballistic missiles, weapons designed for long-range nuclear attacks and have never been used in war.

However, US and NATO officials echo President Putin's description of the weapon as an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has a shorter range of 3,0005,500 km (1,860-3,415 miles).

The Ukrainian Air Force said the missile targeted Dnipro in Ukraine in the middle and was fired from Russia's Astrakhan region, more than 700 km (435 miles) away.

Russia also fired Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles, six of which were shot down, Ukraine's air force said.

The attack targeted companies and critical infrastructure in Dnipro, the air force said. Dnipro is the center of missile manufacturing in the Soviet era. Ukraine has expanded its military industry during the war but kept its whereabouts a secret.