KYIV, Ukraine—NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency meetings Tuesday after Russia targeted a major city with an experimental hypersonic ballistic missile, escalating the nearly 33-month-old conflict.
The battle is "entering a decisive phase," Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned Friday, and it is "taking on very dramatic dimensions."
Ukraine's parliament delayed a session as security intensified following Thursday's Russian bombing on a military site in Dnipro.
In a harsh message to the West, President Vladimir Putin stated in a nationally televised address that the assault with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was reprisal for Kyiv's employment of US and British longer-range missiles capable of reaching further into Russian territory.
Putin said Western air defense systems would be helpless to intercept the new missile.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned "the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries" for supplying Ukraine with weaponry to strike Russia.
“The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined,” he said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, echoed Moscow’s talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement.
“These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption … that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.”
Orbán warned against underestimating Russia's response, stating that the country's recent changes to its nuclear deployment policy are not a "bluff" and will have repercussions.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha held a news conference in Kyiv, expressing their complete support for supplying more air defense systems to defend Ukrainian citizens from "heinous attacks."
He emphasized that the Czech Republic will not place any restrictions on the use of its weapons and equipment sent to Ukraine.
Three members of Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, acknowledged that Friday's previously scheduled session was cancelled owing to the persistent danger of Russian rockets attacking government facilities in downtown Kiev.
In addition, there was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations "in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat," said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added that this is not the first time such a threat has been issued.
According to Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, the Oreshnik missile, whose name in Russian means "hazelnut tree," was launched from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia's Astrakhan area and flew 15 minutes before reaching Dnipro. The missile featured six nonnuclear warheads, each carrying six submunitions, and could travel at Mach 11, according to the report.
The directorate stated that tests of a comparable missile were undertaken in October 2023 and June 2024.
The Pentagon stated that Russia's missile was a new, experimental intermediate-range missile based on the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.
In Sumy, Ukraine, Russia used drones to strike an area overnight, killing two people and injured 13, according to the regional government.
