Putin vows more tests of nuke-capable missile fired at Ukraine

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday promised more combat test-firing of an experimental hypersonic missile launched at Ukraine, as Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for updated air-defence 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 Zelensky said Friday it was already looking for updated air-defence systems from its allies in response to the new threat.
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, Zelensky 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.”
Putin’s hints on 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.
Experts believe it flies at 10 times the speed of sound and may be able to strike targets up to 5,500 kilometres away — enough to make good on Putin’s threats of targeting Kyiv’s European allies but not enough to reach the United States.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed the alarm felt by some in Europe Friday, speaking at a teachers’ union event.
“The war in the east is entering a decisive phase. We all know this…,” he said.
“The events of the last several dozen hours show that the threat is very serious and real when it comes to global conflict,” he added.
Analysts say Moscow and Kyiv are racing to gain battlefield advantages ahead of January 2025, when Donald Trump is due to take office in the United States. Trump has vowed to end the war, without saying how.