"Select targets"

Automatically saved draft

According to the Kremlin leader, the new hypersonic medium-range missile cannot be intercepted.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Kreml/AFP, Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV)

In response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with missiles supplied by the West, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is now threatening the leadership in Kiev with direct attacks with his new medium-range missile.

Of course Russia will respond to the ongoing attacks with the longer-range missiles, Putin threatened at a meeting of the CSTO, the Moscow-dominated security alliance of several former Soviet states, in Kazakhstan on Thursday.

Further attacks with the new Oreshnik hypersonic medium-range missile, which was deployed for the first time last week, are also possible. "The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff are currently selecting targets on Ukrainian territory. These could include military facilities, defense and industrial enterprises or decision-making centers in Kiev," Putin added.

Here is Putin's speech in the original:

So far, Russian attacks have not hit any government buildings in the Ukrainian capital. Kiev is heavily protected by air defense systems. However, Putin threatens that the new Russian hypersonic missile cannot be intercepted. He also emphasizes that Russia's production of advanced missile systems exceeds that of NATO tenfold and should be further increased.

Strikeon Dnipro a "necessary measure"
 Putin called the strike on the Ukrainian industrial city of Dnipro with Oreshnik a necessary measure. "We were forced to carry out the tests under wartime conditions in response to the strikes against the Bryansk and Kursk regions with Western weapons, with ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles," he said. Once again, he praised the Russian weapons system as unique in the world. When used in combination, the destructive power is comparable to that of a nuclear bomb.

Putin, who himself ordered the war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, also described the recent massive attacks with drones and other types of missiles as a reaction to Western weapons deliveries. According to the Kremlin leader, Russia has fired 100 missiles and 466 combat drones at Ukraine in the last two days alone.

Russia ready for dialog with USA
According to Putin, Russia is ready for a dialog with the USA. According to the official news agency RIA, Putin believes that President Joe Biden, who is still in office, is currently trying to bequeath a difficult relationship with Russia to his successor Donald Trump. Trump is an experienced and intelligent politician, Putin added.