After being hit with a new Russian hypersonic ballistic missile… Ukraine demands modern air defense systems

Ukraine has asked its Western allies to provide it with the latest generation of air defense systems to protect itself after it was attacked by a hypersonic ballistic missile that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to be mass-produced on Friday, vowing to stand firm against his country’s enemies.

Russia said it had struck a military-industrial complex in Dnipro, central Ukraine, for the first time since the war began on Thursday with a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile (with a range of 5,500 kilometers) called Oreshnik, which was used in its non-nuclear version.

The missile was launched from the Astrakhan region in southwestern Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in a video posted on social media that the Ukrainian defense minister has reached out to our partners to obtain new air defense systems, specifically a type of system that can protect lives in the face of new threats.

Ukraine is equipped in particular with US Patriot systems, which it says have already intercepted several Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which the Kremlin describes as “invincible,” and with Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense systems, but in too few numbers to protect all its cities.

Russia has reiterated that the Oreshnik missile is impossible to intercept and is capable of reaching all of Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the missile’s power on Friday during a televised meeting with military officials, and ordered it to be mass-produced.

“We’ll continue these tests, especially in combat situations, depending on the development of the situation and the nature of the threats targeting Russia’s security,” Putin said, raising fears of new strikes against Ukraine, which targeted Russian territory this week with US and British missiles.

The Biden administration authorized Ukraine last weekend to target deep inside Russian territory, citing the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces.

For his part, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Moscow’s closest ally within the European Union, called on Friday not to underestimate the threats posed by Russia, a country equipped with the most destructive weapons in the world and which builds its policy and its position in the world in general on military power.

For his part, the Ukrainian president considered Russia’s use of a new generation missile to bomb Ukraine “a mockery of the positions of countries like China… and some leaders who call for restraint every time”.

After the strike on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a speech to the nation delivered on Thursday evening, held the West responsible for escalating the conflict, considering that the war had taken on a global character and threatening to strike countries allied with Kiev.

NATO and Ukraine are due to hold talks in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the situation, and Kiev says it expects “concrete” decisions from its allies.

On the fronts, the Russian army has been gradually advancing for months despite suffering heavy losses in eastern Ukraine.

In this context, a high-ranking source in the Ukrainian General Staff acknowledged on Friday that Russian forces are advancing “200-300 meters daily” near Kurakhov, an important site that may fall soon.

In a sign of this progress, the Russian army announced on Friday that it had taken control of the town of Novodmitrievka, north of Kurakhov.

This area contains large deposits of lithium in particular.

In contrast, the source confirmed that the situation hasn’t changed practically over the past two months in areas near Pokrovsk, which is a major logistics center for Ukrainian forces.

Despite this Russian advance in the east, Ukrainian forces, which lack soldiers and equipment, don’t intend at this stage to withdraw from the Russian border region of Kursk, of which they still control about 800 square kilometers, according to the source.

Moscow announced on Friday that about 50 Kursk residents were able to return to Russia after rare negotiations with Ukraine.

In Kiev, Ukrainian lawmakers said that parliament had cancelled a session due to receiving signals of an increased risk of attacks against the government region in the coming days.