Russia retaliates to Western weapons by firing experimental ballistic missile; Putin warns of global conflict

Putin said on Thursday that the Ukraine war was escalating towards a global conflict after the US and Britain allowed Ukraine to hit Russia with their weapons and warned the West that Moscow could strike back.

The US imposed new sanctions on Russia’s Gazprombank on Thursday, the Treasury Department said, as President Joe Biden steps up actions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine before he leaves office in January. 

Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, says Putin

Russia fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at the city of Dnipro on Thursday in response to the US and UK allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons, in a further escalation of the 33-month-old war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, said Moscow struck a Ukrainian military facility with a new ballistic missile known as “Oreshnik” (the hazel) and warned that more could follow.

A US official said that Washington was pre-notified by Russia shortly before its strike, while another said they had briefed Kyiv and other close allies in recent days to prepare for the possible use of such a weapon.

Earlier on Thursday, Kyiv said that Russia had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never before used in war, though US officials said it was an intermediate-range ballistic missile that had a smaller range.

Regardless of its classification, the latest strike highlighted rapidly rising tensions in the past several days.

Ukraine fired US and British missiles at targets inside Russia this week despite warnings by Moscow that it would see such action as a major escalation.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry urged the international community to react swiftly to the use of what it said was “the use by Russia of a new type of weaponry”.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia probably possessed a handful of the “experimental” intermediate-range ballistic missiles used in Thursday’s strike.

Ukraine’s air force said the missile targeted Dnipro in central-eastern Ukraine and was fired from the Russian region of Astrakhan, more than 700km away. It did not specify what kind of warhead the missile had or what type of missile it was. There was no suggestion it was nuclear-armed.

Russia also fired a Kinzhal hypersonic missile and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles, six of which were shot down, said the Ukrainian Air Force.

The attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in Dnipro, said the air force. Dnipro was a missile-making centre in the Soviet era. Ukraine has expanded its military industry during the war, but keeps its whereabouts secret.

The air force did not say what the missile targeted or whether it had caused any damage, but regional governor Serhiy Lysak said the missile attack damaged an industrial enterprise and set off fires in Dnipro. Two people were hurt.

Ukraine war is going global, says Putin

Putin said on Thursday that the Ukraine war was escalating towards a global conflict after the US and Britain allowed Ukraine to hit Russia with their weapons and warned the West that Moscow could strike back.

Russia, Putin said, had responded to the use of US and British missiles by firing a new kind of hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile at a Ukrainian military facility. More could follow, Putin warned. He said civilians would be warned ahead of further strikes with such weapons.

After approval from the administration of President Joe Biden, Ukraine struck Russia with six US-made Atacms on 19 November and with British Storm Shadow missiles and US-made Himars on 21 November, said Putin.

“From that moment, as we have repeatedly underscored, a regional conflict in Ukraine previously provoked by the West has acquired elements of a global character,” said Putin in an address to the nation carried by state television.

The US, said Putin, was pushing the world towards a global conflict.

“And in case of escalation of aggressive actions, we will also respond decisively and in a mirror manner,” he said.

Putin said the Ukrainian missile attack with Atacms had failed to inflict any serious damage. But the Storm Shadow attack on the Kursk region on 21 November had been directed at a command point and led to deaths and injuries, said Putin.

“The use by the enemy of such weapons is not able to change the course of the military actions in the zone of the special military operation,” said Putin.

“We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities,” said Putin. “If anyone else doubts this, then they are wrong — there will always be a response.”

US Treasury targets Russia’s Gazprombank with new sanctions

The US imposed new sanctions on Russia’s Gazprombank on Thursday, said the Treasury Department, as President Joe Biden steps up actions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine before he leaves office in January.

The move, which wields the department’s most powerful sanctions tool, effectively kicks Gazprombank out of the US banking system, bans its trade with Americans and freezes its US assets.

Gazprombank is one of Russia’s largest banks and is partially owned by the Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom. Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has been urging the US to impose more sanctions on the bank, which receives payments for natural gas from Gazprom’s customers in Europe.

The Treasury also imposed sanctions on 50 small-to-medium Russian banks to curtail the country’s connections to the international financial system and prevent it from abusing it to pay for technology and equipment needed for the war. It warned that foreign financial institutions that maintain correspondent relationships with the targeted banks “entails significant sanctions risk”.

“This sweeping action will make it harder for the Kremlin to evade US sanctions and fund and equip its military,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “We will continue to take decisive steps against any financial channels Russia uses to support its illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine.”

Gazprombank said Washington’s latest move would not affect its operations. The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Russian spokeswoman told not to comment on missile strike reports

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman was phoned during a live briefing and told not to comment on reports that Russia had fired a ballistic missile at Ukraine, according to a video of the briefing that picked up the telephone conversation.

Kyiv said earlier on Thursday that Russia had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile during an attack on the city of Dnipro.

Russian Telegram channels said Russia had attacked what is known in Ukraine as the missile and space rocket company Pivdenmash, which is headquartered in Dnipro.

While answering reporters’ questions at a weekly briefing, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was phoned by a man who used the informal “Mash” instead of Maria. He told her not to comment on ballistic missiles.

Russia’s weekend strikes hit Ukraine’s biggest private power producer

Russia’s weekend missile strikes hit three of the five working thermal plants owned by Ukrainian power giant DTEK and one of them was still offline, said an industry source, illustrating the severity of the latest blow to the national grid.

DTEK, which is Ukraine’s largest private power producer and which provided a quarter of the country’s electricity needs before Moscow’s February 2022 invasion, has been hammered by a campaign of aerial assaults that Russia renewed in March.

After a pause in major strikes on the grid, Russia fired a salvo of more than 200 missiles and drones on Sunday, reigniting concern about the already hobbled energy system as winter sets in. The first snow fell in Kyiv on Thursday.

Disclosing details of the damage to DTEK for the first time, the source said that three power stations were damaged, one was still completely offline and it was unclear how long it would take to fully repair them.

The source said the two facilities that were partially damaged had resumed partial power generation.

Energy officials announced on Monday there would be hourslong rolling blackouts across the country for the first time in months, bringing back memories of the first winter of the war when water and power outages sometimes lasted for days.

Ukrainian officials say that Russia has accumulated hundreds of missiles to conduct more attacks, but have cautioned against doom-laden forecasts that they say play into Russia’s hands and create a sense of panic. DM