Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a chilling new threat to Ukraine, warning that Moscow may intensify its use of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile to target the capital city, Kyiv.
Putin’s threat, made during a security briefing at the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Kazakhstan, comes after Russia recently launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine.
In the last 72 hours, Russia has fired over 100 drone strikes and 90 missiles, according to The Moscow Times.
The latest barrage follows escalating tensions after Ukrainian forces, armed with U.S. and UK-supplied missiles, hit multiple military sites in Russia, including a radar facility in Kursk.
At the summit, Putin called his following strikes a “response to ongoing attacks on our territory.”
The Oreshnik, a new hypersonic ballistic missile developed by Russia, has been described by Putin as a weapon capable of inflicting devastation “comparable to a nuclear strike,” and could turn “targets into dust.”
Putin’s latest threat comes at a time of growing concern over Ukraine’s power grid, reported Al Jazeera.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko confirmed that the country had been subjected to “massive enemy attacks” on its power grid, forcing emergency blackouts and new energy conservation measures as temperatures drop during the winter months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to the latest Russian attacks as “terrorist tactics,” via his official telegram channel, adding that several regions of Ukraine had also recently been hit with “cluster munitions.”
However, this is just one of several global threats Russia has issued this week.
Tensions between Russia and NATO also surged following Moscow’s threat to target a new U.S. missile defense base in Poland.
Located in Redzikowo, the defense base is part of NATO’s “Aegis Ashore” system, designed to intercept missile attacks. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, since it’s opening on November 13, the base has become a big point of friction for Russia.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, condemned the base as provocative, warning that it is now a key target of Russia’s advanced weapons system.