Putin touts Russia’s new missile and delivers a menacing warning to NATO
Associated PressThe new ballistic missile fired by Russia struck a military-industrial facility in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, but its real mission was delivering a deadly new message to NATO. Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, noted that the missile used Thursday has a range “way beyond any of that seen in this conflict so far and possibly the first ever use in combat.” He said the missile was capable of releasing multiple warheads at extremely high speeds, even though they are less accurate than cruise missiles or short-range ballistic missiles. As for Putin’s claim that the Western systems could not intercept the missile, Savill said “these are quite hard to defend against” even for advanced U.S. Patriot systems. “And in case of escalation of aggressive actions we will respond resolutely in a mirror way.” If Russia launches more strikes on Ukraine with the new missile, it will warn of its use in advance to allow civilians to reach safety as a “humanitarian” gesture, Putin said, adding that Moscow isn’t worried about tipping off the enemy since it cannot stop the attack “I would recommend the ruling elites of the countries that are hatching plans to use their military contingents against Russia to seriously think about it,” Putin said. Savill said the new missile is sending a fear-inducing signal from Russia that “we’ve got stuff that outrages you.” The larger message to the West is that “we’re happy to enter into a competition around intermediate-range ballistic missiles.