Closing summary
We’ll now pause our live coverage of Russia’s ballistic missile strike on Ukraine – it’s just gone 2am in Kyiv and 3am in Moscow. You can read our full report on the attack here. And here’s a summary of the latest developments. Thanks for reading.
Vladimir Putin said Russia fired an experimental ballistic missile at a military site in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday morning. The Russian president said during an unannounced televised address to the nation that the new missile was called Oreshnik (the hazel) and that its deployment “was a response to US plans to produce and deploy intermediate and short-range missiles”.
Putin appeared to directly threaten the US and UK, who earlier this week allowed Ukraine to fire western-made Atacms and Storm Shadow missiles into Russia. Moscow “had the right” to strike western countries that provided Kyiv with weapons used against Russian targets, he said during his televised address, adding that Russia would “respond decisively and symmetrically” in the event of an escalation.
The new intermediate range ballistic missile was part of a wider salvo of nine missiles fired from the Astrakhan region of Russia between 5am and 7am on Thursday. Six of the missiles were intercepted by Ukraine’s air force but the new ballistic missile was not stopped. The missile was said to have hit “without consequences”, Ukraine’s air force said, though it added that complete information about victims had yet to be received.
Ukraine’s air force had initially claimed Russia had fired a longer-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Dnipro. US and UK sources indicated that they believed the missile was an experimental nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which has a theoretical range of below 3,420 miles (5,500km). That is enough to reach Europe from where it was fired in south-western Russia, but not the US. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, later softened the claim to say the missile fired had “all the parameters” of an ICBM in terms of speed and altitude of flight.
Zelenskyy called for a “strong” international response to the Russian missile strike, describing it as a major step-up in the “scale and brutality” of the war. In a statement after Putin’s address, Zelenskyy said the strike was “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace”, adding that “response is needed. Pressure is needed. Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength.”
UN secretary general António Guterres’s spokesperson said Russia’s use of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile was “yet another concerning and worrying development”. “All of this [is] going in the wrong direction,” Stéphane Dujarric said as he called on all parties to de-escalate the conflict and “to protect civilians, not hit civilian targets or critical civilian infrastructure”.
A Nato spokesperson said the missile would not affect the course of the war nor the western alliance’s support for Kyiv. Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah was quoted as describing the Russian strike on Dnipro as “yet another example of Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian cities”.
The White House said Russia was to blame for “escalating at every turn” in its war in Ukraine, including in its decision to involve North Korean troops. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added that the US did not see “any reason” to modify its nuclear posture or doctrine in reaction to changes announced by Russia.
The US was notified by Russia shortly before its strike on Dnipro, according to a US official. Russia is required by a treaty to inform the US of the launch of certain kinds of ballistic missiles, in the hopes of preventing an escalatory ladder that could lead to an all-out nuclear war. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia notified the US 30 minutes before the strike through the US’s Nuclear Threat Reduction Center.
Ukraine’s parliament postponed a sitting due to have taken place on Friday out of security concerns, public broadcaster Suspilne reported, quoting sources. It said the order told members to keep their families out of Kyiv’s government district and quoted parliamentarians as saying that, for the moment, the next sitting was not scheduled until December.
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Ukrainian parliament reportedly cancels sitting amid security fears
Ukraine’s parliament has postponed a sitting due to have taken place on Friday out of security concerns, public broadcaster Suspilne has reported, quoting sources.
“On 22nd November, plans called for a session of the Verkhovna Rada [parliament], which included questions to the government, but this was cancelled for reasons of potential security issues,” Suspilne said on Thursday.
It said the order told members to keep their families out of Kyiv’s government district and quoted parliamentarians as saying that, for the moment, the next sitting was not scheduled until December, Reuters reports.
The postponement occurred after Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck Dnipro in Ukraine with an experimental hypersonic missile and suggested more could follow “in case of escalation of aggressive actions”.
One opposition member of the Ukrainian parliament, Oleksiy Honcharenko, expressed frustration at the cancellation, saying on Telegram that an opportunity to put questions to the government had been lost.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accused the US of ramping up tension and provocations, saying the Korean peninsula has never faced such risks of nuclear war as now, state media said on Friday.
In a speech at a military exhibition on Thursday in Pyongyang, Kim said his previous experience of negotiations with Washington only highlighted its “aggressive and hostile” policy against Pyongyang, Reuters reported outlet KCNA as saying.
KCNA quoted Kim as saying:
Never before have the warring parties on the Korean peninsula faced such a dangerous and acute confrontation that it could escalate into the most destructive thermonuclear war.
We have already gone as far as we can on negotiating with the United States, but what we became certain of from the result is not the superpower’s willingness to coexist, but its thorough stance of power and aggressive and hostile policy toward us that can never change.
Kim’s speech came amid international criticism over increasingly deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, with North Korea having reportedly sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
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The US believes Russia fired a never-before-fielded intermediate-range ballistic missile in its attack on Ukraine, an escalation that analysts say could have implications for European missile defence, Reuters is reporting.
The US military said the Russian missile’s design was based on the design of Russia’s longer-range RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The new missile was experimental and Russia likely possessed only a handful of them, officials said.
Ukraine’s air force initially said the missile was an ICBM, sparking worries of a major escalation in the war. While launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) sends a less threatening signal, the incident could still set off alarms and Moscow notified Washington briefly ahead of the launch, US officials said.
The Pentagon said the missile was fired with a conventional warhead but added that Moscow could modify it if it wanted. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said:
It could be refitted to certainly carry different types of conventional or nuclear warheads.
This is Adam Fulton picking up our live coverage. Stay with us for the latest developments.
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Summary of the day so far
It’s 1am in Kyiv and 2am in Moscow. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Vladimir Putin said Russia fired an experimental ballistic missile at a military site in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday morning. The Russian president, speaking during an unannounced televised address to the nation, said the new missile was called Oreshnik [the hazel] and that its deployment “was a response to US plans to produce and deploy intermediate and short-range missiles”.
Putin appeared to directly threaten the US and UK, who earlier this week allowed Ukraine to fire western-made Atacms and Storm Shadow missiles into Russia. Moscow “had the right” to strike western countries that provided Kyiv with weapons used against Russian targets, he said during his televised address on Thursday night, adding that Russia would “respond decisively and symmetrically” in the event of an escalation.
The new intermediate range ballistic missile was part of a wider salvo of nine missiles fired from the Astrakhan region of Russia between 5am and 7am on Thursday. Six of the missiles were intercepted by Ukraine’s air force but the new ballistic missile was not stopped. The missile was said to have hit “without consequences”, Ukraine’s air force said, though it added that complete information about victims had yet to be received.
Ukraine’s air force had initially claimed Russia had fired a longer-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Dnipro. US and UK sources indicated that they believed the missile was an experimental nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which has a theoretical range of below 3,420 miles (5,500km). That is enough to reach Europe from where it was fired in south-western Russia, but not the US. Volodymyr Zelenskyy later softened the claim to say the missile fired had “all the parameters” of an ICBM in terms of speed and altitude of flight.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called for a “strong” international response to the Russian ballistic missile strike, describing it as a major step-up in the “scale and brutality” of the war. In a statement after Putin’s address, Zelenskyy said the strike was “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace”, adding that “response is needed. Pressure is needed. Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength.”
The UN secretary general António Guterres’s spokesperson said Russia’s use of a new intermediate range ballistic missile is “yet another concerning and worrying development. “All of this [is] going in the wrong direction,” Stéphane Dujarric said as he called on all parties to de-escalate the conflict and “to protect civilians, not hit civilian targets or critical civilian infrastructure”.
A Nato spokesperson said the missile will not affect the course of the war nor the western alliance’s support for Kyiv. Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah was quoted as describing the Russian strike on Dnipro as “yet another example of Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian cities”.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, appeared to inadvertently reveal some details about the strike during a live press briefing earlier on Thursday. A hot mic captured Zakharova’s phone conversation with an unidentified caller who appears to disclose that the strike targeted the Yuzhmash military facility in Dnipro.
The US was notified by Russia shortly before its strike on Dnipro, according to a US official. Russia is required by a treaty to inform the US of the launch of certain kinds of ballistic missiles, in the hopes of preventing an escalatory ladder that could lead to an all-out nuclear war. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia notified the US 30 minutes before the strike through the US’s Nuclear Threat Reduction Center.
The White House said Russia is to blame for “escalating at every turn” in its war in Ukraine, including in its decision to involve North Korean troops. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added that the US does not see “any reason” to modify its nuclear posture or doctrine in reaction to changes announced by Russia.
Joe Biden’s decision to lift restrictions on Ukraine firing US-made long-range missiles into Russian territory was in response to North Korea’s involvement in the war, Reuters reported, citing sources. This shift in US policy also took on added urgency following the presidential election win of Donald Trump, who is deeply skeptical of US support for Ukraine, it said.
The UK is now “directly involved” in the Ukraine war after its Storm Shadow missiles were used to strike targets inside Russia, the Russian ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, said earlier on Thursday.
Kelin, in an interview with Sky News, said Britain’s decision to allow Ukraine to use its missiles on Russian targets had dragged the UK into the conflict. He said:
Absolutely, Britain and UK is now directly involved in this war, because this firing cannot happen without Nato staff, British staff as well.
He added:
The US administration, support by France and the UK, has made a deliberate decision to make these strikes, which seriously escalates the situation, and it can bring a collision between the nuclear powers.
Downing Street, responding to Kelin’s comments, said the UK government would not be “deterred or distracted by commentary from Vladimir Putin or the Russian ambassador”.
Nato says new Russian missile will not change course of Ukraine war
The experimental intermediate-range missile Russia fired at Ukraine will not affect the course of the war nor Nato’s support for Kyiv, a spokesperson for the alliance said.
Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah was quoted by AFP as describing the Russian strike on Dnipro on Thursday as “yet another example of Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian cities”, adding:
Deploying this capability will neither change the course of the conflict nor deter Nato Allies from supporting Ukraine.
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Bridget Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine, has said that the Russian attack on Dnipro shows Kyiv needs continued support until the end of the war.
Russia’s attack on Dnipro is a sign that we must support Ukraine until it wins this war against Russia’s aggression, which is a threat to Ukraine, Europe, and the world.
Russia's use of new missile a 'worrying development', says UN chief's spokesperson
Russia’s use of a new intermediate range ballistic missile to strike Ukraine is “yet another concerning and worrying development”, the spokesperson for the UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, said.
“All of this [is] going in the wrong direction,” Stéphane Dujarric said as he called on all parties to de-escalate the conflict and “to protect civilians, not hit civilian targets or critical civilian infrastructure”.
What we want to see is an end to this conflict in line with General Assembly resolutions, international law, and territorial integrity.
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Here’s a clip from Vladimir Putin’s address on Thursday confirming that Russia fired an experimental ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro earlier that morning.
The Russian president appeared to directly threaten the US and UK, who earlier this week allowed Ukraine to fire western-made Atacms and Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.
The new ballistic missile was called Oreshnik [the hazel], Putin said, and its deployment “was a response to US plans to produce and deploy intermediate and short-range missiles”. He said Russia would “respond decisively and symmetrically” in the event of an escalation.
The “experimental” Russian ballistic missile fired at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro this morning carried multiple warheads, CNN is reporting, citing sources.
According to the outlet, the weapon is known as a “multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicle (Mirv)" which carries a series of warheads that can each target a specific location, allowing one ballistic missile to launch a larger attack.
Thursday’s missile attack was not armed with nuclear warheads, but it used a weapon designed for nuclear delivery to instead launch conventional weapons, CNN writes.
Tom Karako, the director of the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told the outlet that it was likely the first time a Mirv has been used in combat.
The use of this type of missile armed with conventional warheads is an escalation of Russia’s nuclear sabre-rattling, Karako said, which includes Vladimir Putin’s recent updating of its nuclear doctrine.
Biden lifted missile ban in response to North Korean involvement in Ukraine war – report
A decision by the US president, Joe Biden, to lift restrictions on Ukraine firing US-made long-range missiles into Russian territory was in response to North Korea’s involvement in the war, Reuters is reporting, citing sources.
Ukraine fired a series of US-made Atacms missiles into Russia earlier this week after the Biden administration lifted restrictions on their use.
For months, Biden had resisted pleas from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to ease limits on the use of long-range US missiles.
But Russia’s decision to deploy North Korean soldiers to Russia’s Kursk region represented a major escalation that demanded a response, a senior US official and two others sources told the news agency.
This shift in US policy also took on added urgency following the presidential election win of Donald Trump, who is deeply skeptical of US support for Ukraine.
The decision could help to “Trump-proof” parts of Biden’s Ukraine agenda by strengthening Ukraine’s position in case they lose US support, a source told Reuters.
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Prior to Vladimir Putin’s televised address confirming the use of an experimental ballistic missile, the UK accused the Russian president of dramatically escalating the war in Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, said Russia’s use of a ballistic missile is “another example of reckless behaviour” by Moscow. The spokesperson added:
This is obviously deeply concerning. It is another example of reckless behaviour from Russia, which only serves to strengthen our resolve in terms of standing by Ukraine for as long as it takes.
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Here are some images from Ukraine’s emergency services showing the aftermath of a Russian missile strike on the city of Dnipro early on Thursday.
Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at Oslo University who specialises in missile technology and nuclear strategy, said the significance of the Oreshnik missile strike was that it appeared to carry a type of payload that “is exclusively associated with nuclear-capable missiles”.
A US official told the Guardian that Russia may have used the weapon as an attempt to “intimidate Ukraine and its supporters” or attract public attention, but that the weapon would not be a “gamechanger” in the conflict.
“Russia likely possesses only a handful of these experimental missiles,” the official said.
Ukraine used US Atacms missiles to target what it said was a weapons depot in Russia’s south-western Bryansk region on Monday, and fired a salvo of Storm Shadow missiles on Wednesday at a command post in Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces hold a small bridgehead of territory inside Russia.
Ukraine had previously used both weapons to strike targets inside its internationally recognised borders, but had been lobbying the US and UK for months to allow it to strike airfields, bases and depots deeper inside Russia.
Both sides are stepping up their military efforts in the near three-year-long war ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump on 20 January. The Republican president-elect has said he wants to end the war, though it is unclear how he proposes to do so, and each side is hoping to improve its battlefield position before he takes office.
Putin 'has no interest in peace', says Zelenskyy as he urges 'strong' international reaction
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the use of an experimental ballistic missile on Ukraine is “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace”.
The Ukrainian president says his country has “every right” to fire long-range weapons into Russia under international law in the interest of self-defence.
“The world must respond,” Zelenskyy says. He says Vladimir Putin is “spitting in the face of those in the world who genuinely want peace to be restored” and that he is “testing” the world.
Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world. Putin is very sensitive to this. He is testing you, dear partners. … He must be stopped. A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behavior is acceptable. This is what Putin is doing.
Zelenskyy says Putin “must feel the cost of his deranged ambitions”, adding:
Response is needed. Pressure is needed. Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength. Otherwise, there will be endless Russian strikes, threats, and destabilization—not just against Ukraine.
“True peace is worth fighting for. Action is required,” he adds.
Missile strike 'a severe escalation in scale and brutality' of war against Ukraine, says Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has issued a statement on X after Vladimir Putin said Russian forces had hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new experimental mid-range ballistic missile.
The Russian leader has “admitted” to taking a step “toward escalating and expanding this war” by using a new ballistic missile on Ukraine, Zelenskyy wrote.
Putin struck our city of Dnipro, one of Ukraine’s largest cities. This is a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war — a cynical violation of the UN Charter by Russia.
He said this was Russia’s second step towards escalation this year, after bringing 11,000 North Korean troops to Ukraine’s borders.
Zelenskyy said Putin was “ignoring everyone in the world” who has urged against further expansion of the war, including calls from China, Brazil, European countries and the US. He added:
Putin alone started this war—an entirely unprovoked war — and he is doing everything to prolong it, now for over a thousand days.
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Ukraine’s air force said earlier on Thursday that nine projectiles were launched at Dnipro between 5am and 7am local time from the Astrakhan region of Russia. In that case, the missile probably travelled about 500 miles (800km) to reach its target.
US and UK sources indicated that they believed the missile fired on Dnipro was an experimental nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which has a theoretical range of below 3,417 miles (5,500km).
That is enough to reach Europe from where it was fired in south-western Russia, but not the US.
Ukraine’s air force had initially claimed Russia had fired a longer-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). However, the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, later softened the claim to say the missile fired had “all the parameters” of an ICBM in terms of speed and altitude of flight.
Russian ICBMs can have ranges of more than 6,200 miles, in theory enough to reach the US east coast from Astrakhan, and are capable of being nuclear armed.
ICBMs were developed in the 1950s, at the height of the cold war, as a way for the Soviet Union and the US to threaten each other’s populations directly with nuclear weapons. US congressional research estimates that Russia has 326 ICBMs in its nuclear arsenal, but no country had fired one in a war before.
Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, was interrupted during a briefing earlier on Thursday by a call that instructed her not to comment on reports of a Russian ballistic missile attack at Ukraine.
Zakharova, in the middle of a regular press conference, received a call from a man who used the informal “Mash” instead of Maria, according to video that picked up the telephone conversation.
In the brief telephone exchange, the caller appears to disclose that the strike targeted the Yuzhmash military facility in Dnipro. The man is overheard saying:
About the ballistic missile strike on Yuzhmash (rocket company Pivdenmash) that the western media are talking about, we are not commenting at all.
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Russia notified US shortly before strike, says US official
The US was notified by Russia shortly before its strike with an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, according to a US official.
The US official was quoted by Reuters as saying:
The US was pre-notified briefly before the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow informed Washington that it was going to launch the missile 30 minutes before firing it at Ukraine, Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency reported.
“The Russian side warned the Americans about the launch of ’Oreshnik’,” Peskov told Tass.
An agreement between the US and Russia signed in 2000 provides in theory that each side should notify the other at least 24 hours ahead of any planned missile launch in excess of 500km.
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The United States does not see “any reason” to modify its nuclear posture or doctrine in reaction to changes announced by Russia, the White House further said in recent minutes, during the ongoing media briefing in Washington, DC today.
The White House condemned what it termed “irresponsible” rhetoric from Moscow.
We have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture or doctrine in response to Russia’s statements,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
She added a few minutes later:
We have not seen any indication of Russia preparing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. So this is more of their irresponsible [talk] from Russia that we have seen these past two years. This is a war they can end, they can end it today.”
Russia escalating 'at every turn’ in Ukraine, says White House
The White House said moments ago that Russia is to blame for “escalating at every turn” in its war in Ukraine, just over 1,000 days since it invaded its smaller neighbor.
That escalation included Russian ally North Korea adding troops to join Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
The escalation at every turn is coming from Russia,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters gathered in the daily briefing room in the west wing at the White House, in Washington, DC.
Jean-Pierre added that the US has previously warned Moscow not to involve
Another country in another part of the world.”
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Vladimir Putin’s televised address to the nation came after Ukraine claimed earlier on Thursday that Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the central city of Dnipro.
Nine projectiles were launched at enterprises and critical infrastructure in Dnipro between 5am and 7am local time from the Astrakhan region of Russia, Ukraine’s air forces said.
The missile was said to have hit “without consequences” the air force said, though it added that information about victims had yet to be received.
Six of the nine projectiles were destroyed by air defences, the air force said in a morning update.
Initial unconfirmed reports from Ukraine had suggested Russia had used ICBM, a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never before used in war. There was no suggestion the weapon was nuclear-armed.
Three US officials said it was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a smaller range. Intermediate-range ballistic missiles have a range of 3,000-5,500km (1,860-3,415 miles).
Missile attack a 'response to Nato's aggressive actions against Russia', says Putin
Vladimir Putin said Russia’s deployment of an experimental ballistic missile on a Ukrainian military target was “a response” to “aggressive actions of Nato countries against Russia”.
The Russian leader said the strike on Thursday morning came in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with US and British missiles earlier this week.
In comments carried by the Moscow Times, Putin said:
We consider ourselves justified in using our weapons against military targets in those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities. In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond decisively and accordingly.
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Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, said in a televised address that his forces tested the new intermediate range ballistic missile “Oreshnik”, which means “hazel” in Russian.
Among the operations carried out was the testing of one of Russia’s latest medium-range missile systems. In this case, a ballistic missile equipped with a non-nuclear hypersonic warhead was used.
The tests were deemed successful, he said, adding that the target had been struck “as intended”.
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Putin says Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine in warning to west
Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Russia fired a new intermediate range ballistic missile at a Ukrainian military site, as he warned the west that Moscow “had the right” to strike western countries that provide Kyiv with long-range weapons.
The Russian leader, in an unannounced televised address to the nation on Thursday evening, said Russia tested the new ballistic missile, Oreshnik, to strike a military facility in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
The Russian leader said the strike on Ukraine on Thursday morning came in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with US and British missiles earlier this week.
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