Vladimir Putin's lethal new Oreshnik hypersonic missile could devastate a key US ally "in just 20 minutes", according to reports.
The missile was allegedly deployed on Dnipro yesterday, and Ukraine is preparing for more attacks, with the country's parliament cancelling a session due to fears of a massive strike on Kyiv.
Times of Ukraine also suggests that the missile could reach Britain in mere minutes. It's thought that the Oreshnik is likely a revamped version of an old Cold War intercontinental RS-26 Rubezh missile.
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"Most likely, the designation Oreshnik was invented by Vladimir Putin to create the impression of new missile capabilities and intimidate the West, because there is no information about Oreshnik in the public domain," said Roman Svitan, a reserve colonel in the Ukrainian armed forces. Time of Ukraine channel estimates that the Oreshnok could hit Poland in 12 minutes from a launch in Russia, Germany in 15 minutes, and Britain in 20 minutes.
News broke today that a North Korean general was injured in the Kursk airstrike by British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. The strike targeted a sanatorium of the Russian Presidential Property Management Department, where Ukrainian channels suggest a war command post was located.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky called for international action following the use of the powerful missile. Putin "is lying when he says that Ukraine's use of long-range weapons is some kind of new step" he stated.
According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have used such weapons "not for the first time."
He added: "The world must react to this. Putin is very sensitive to this. He is testing you, dear partners. He must be stopped. If there is no harsh reaction to Russia's actions, then they see that this is possible. Putin must feel what his sick ambitions are worth."
Ukraine's parliament cancelled a scheduled session, according to reports. "We were informed about the possible missile threat over the next couple of days [for the] parliament," MP Taras Batenko revealed.
"We'll see if it happens or not but I see that Putin raised the stakes for Ukrainian people and it's obvious that Ukraine has to react to this. But more than Ukraine, the international community should react."
Meanwhile, the Sumy region in Ukraine was reportedly hit with Russian mortars laced with shrapnel in an apparent bid to harm civilians.
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