KYIV: President Vladimir Putin threatened on Thursday to attack “decision-making centers” in Kiev with Russia’s new hypersonic missile, hours after Moscow destroyed Ukraine’s energy grid in an attack. Due to which one million people lost electricity.
Russia fired more than 90 missiles and about 100 drones during the barrage, Kiev said, in what the Kremlin chief called a “response” to Ukrainian strikes on its territory by Western missiles.
“We do not rule out the Oryshank’s use against military, military-industrial or decision-making centers, including Kiev,” Putin said at a press conference in the Kazakh capital Astana, referring to the hypersonic missile.
Kiev’s Government District — an area of the capital where many government buildings are located — has been heavily guarded, but concerns have grown since last week. Russia last week tested its new Orshank ballistic missile over Ukraine, and Putin boasted on Thursday that the power to fire several weapons at once would be equivalent to a nuclear strike, or “meteor” hit.
He had earlier said the overnight barrage was “a response to the continuous attacks by (US) ATACMS missiles on our soil.”
“As I have said many times, there will always be a response from us.”
Putin also claimed that Russia knows how many long-range weapons Kiev has been given and where they are.
Putin suggested he had hopes for Trump’s second term, describing the Republican on Thursday as an “intelligent person” who is capable of finding “solutions,” without specifying what they would be. Referring to
Speaking to reporters in Kazakhstan after a summit, Putin said he was surprised by the way the US election campaign had unfolded. He cited the “uncivilized methods used to wage war against Trump, including assassinations and more than once”.
“Well, in my opinion, he is no longer safe,” Putin said. “Unfortunately, different things have happened in the history of the United States. I think he (Trump) is intelligent and I hope he is careful and understands that.” Putin, who is very reserved himself, said he was even more shocked by how Trump’s family and children were criticized by political opponents during the US election. The campaign called such behavior “rebellious” and said that even “bandits” in Russia would not resort to such methods.
Speaking about the Biden administration’s decision to escalate the war in Ukraine by allowing Kiev to attack Russia with Western missiles, Putin speculated that it could be a ploy to help Trump either withdraw A method of giving or making something for. His life with Russia is more difficult. Either way, Putin said he believed Trump would “find a solution” and said Moscow was open to talks.
The Russian leader spoke hours after an overnight barrage that knocked out power to more than half a million customers in Ukraine’s western Lviv region. Another 280,000 people were without power in the western Rayon region and 215,000 in the northwestern Wallin region, officials said.
Since Moscow last week shocked the West and Kiev by testing its new Orshank ballistic missile over the Dnipro city, Russian officials have assessed the arm’s power.
Putin said the Orishnik could turn anything into “dust” and hit at temperatures comparable to “the surface of the sun”.
He said Russia was forced to “test (the weapon) in combat conditions” after Kiev’s first attack on Russian soil using ATACMS.
Putin said on Thursday that Orishnik could travel at speeds of “about three kilometers per second” and that its elements could reach temperatures almost “like the surface of the Sun”.