Russia has automatically warned the US about the launch of its new hypersonic ballistic missile "Nutcracker“ on the lines of the Russian National Center for Nuclear Risk Reduction (NCNNR), Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told TASS, quoted by BTA.
"The Russian side warned the Americans about the launch of "Oreshnik“ along the lines of the NCNAO, which works in automatic mode and maintains a constant connection with the analogous system of the USA”, said Peskov.
"The warning was given in automatic mode 30 minutes before launch,”, he specified.
Russian President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated the war in Ukraine by launching a long-range ballistic missile, the British government said, quoted by PA Media and DPA, BNR reported.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office on "Downing Street” 10 confirmed that a ballistic missile with a range of several thousand kilometers was fired at the city of Dnipro, after Ukraine reported a new weapon that was used in the war.
Kiev initially said an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) had been fired, a claim Western officials have questioned.
The British prime minister's official spokesman was careful not to use the term, instead telling reporters: "My understanding is that this is the first time Russia has used a ballistic missile in Ukraine with a range of several thousand kilometers.”
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When asked whether the British government believed the Kremlin had escalated the conflict with the attack, "Downing Street” 10 said it was "an example of escalating behavior by Russia”.
However, Starmer's spokesman added that this "will only serve to strengthen resolve and ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to act in self-defence against Russia's reckless and illegal invasion.
The range of the missile far exceeds that of the newly authorized weapons supplied by the US and Britain, which are reportedly already in use in the war and which Kiev is trying to use to target military bases deep inside Russian territory.
The Russian military claims to have shot down two "Storm Shadow" missiles; British-made after it was reported that debris from the weapons had been found in Kursk Oblast, which borders Ukraine.
US-supplied ATAKMS missiles were fired at Russia after the authorization of US President Joe Biden.
Earlier, British Defense Secretary John Healy revealed to a parliamentary committee that Britain had expected for some time that Russia would start using long-range ballistic missiles.
"There are unconfirmed media reports today that Russia has fired a new ballistic missile towards Ukraine, which we know has been in the works for months,” he told the House of Commons Defense Committee.
Healy warned that Ukraine is facing a "critical moment” in its defense against a Russian invasion, and refused to venture into confirming reports that the war-torn country had fired British-supplied long-range missiles at its enemy.
"This risks both operational security and ultimately the only one who benefits from such a public debate is President Putin,”, the British Defense Secretary told MPs.
The battle lines in Ukraine are now "less stable than at any time since the early days of the full-scale Russian invasion,” Healy said, citing British intelligence.
Speaking at the same time, Starmer told the House of Commons that the UK "will not be deterred or distracted by reckless threats”, as Putin lowers the threshold for using his nuclear arsenal.
This was seen as a response to Biden's announcement that he would give Ukraine permission to use US-made ATAKMS long-range missiles.
Starmer also noted that all UK support for Kiev was"„in line with international law” and "always for self-defense“.
Moscow's use of a new medium-range ballistic missile to strike Ukraine is a "disturbing new development”, the UN Secretary General's spokesman said today, quoted by "France Press".
"This is a disturbing new development and it is all moving in the wrong direction,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric, urging the parties to de-escalate.
Moscow must "reconsider“ its position on the "escalating” participation of North Korean soldiers in the war in Ukraine, said the Minister of the Armed Forces of France, Sebastien Lecorneau.