Russia automatically notified the US 30 minutes before the attack
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Thursday that after the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Russian territory with long-range missiles supplied by the West and with the approval of the United States, the war in Ukraine has become «a global conflict.»
«From this moment on, as I have repeatedly emphasized, the conflict in Ukraine, previously provoked by the West, has acquired elements of a global nature,» Putin said, who, in a brief address to the nation, confirmed the Ukrainian attacks that are still not officially recognized by Kiev.
Thus, Putin detailed that the Ukrainian attacks – on Tuesday with US ATACMS missiles and on Thursday with the British Storm Shadow – were aimed at military targets in the regions of Bryansk and Kursk, both bordering Ukraine, although they did not reach their target.
Amid escalating tensions, President Putin took the opportunity to reaffirm the new nuclear doctrine, while the Russian Armed Forces launched a new «medium-range missile system» called Oreshnik on Thursday against «a Ukrainian military sector installation,» as confirmed by the president.
«We are conducting combat tests of the Oreshnik missile system in response to the aggressive actions of NATO countries towards Russia,» Putin said, emphasizing that Moscow would respond «decisively and spectacularly» to an «escalation of aggressive actions» against it.
«I recommend to the ruling elites of those countries that have plans to use their military contingents against Russia to think seriously about it,» added the Russian leader, who clarified that, in the event of a large-scale attack on Ukraine, civilians will be warned in advance and offered the opportunity to leave the area.
Nevertheless, and even acknowledging an intensification of tensions in Ukraine that now involves other international actors, the Russian leader emphasized that Moscow remains willing to «resolve all problems through peaceful means,» although it is attentive to «any possible evolution» of the situation.
These statements by President Putin come in a context marked by escalating tensions surrounding the war in Ukraine. Russia claims that Ukraine launched Western long-range missiles against its territory, although Kiev has not yet commented on the matter.
ORESHNIK, THE NEW RUSSIAN MISSILE
This new model of medium-range missiles has the ability to travel between 2.5 and three kilometers per second, a speed at which currently available air defense systems in the world, including the US ones, are not able to intercept it, as specified.
Thus, President Putin praised the capabilities of the new Oreshnik, which, he claims, will be used by Moscow «openly, publicly, and without fear of enemy opposition,» because, according to the Russian leader, «there are currently no means to counter these weapons.»
Shortly after, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov pointed out that Russian authorities had automatically notified Washington through the Russian National Center for Nuclear Risk Reduction about 30 minutes before the attack.
In this regard, he specified that Washington did not receive an official notification of the launch within the established mechanism for strategic intercontinental missiles, as Oreshnik is a «medium-range» projectile.
The US Department of Defense’s Deputy Spokesperson, Sabrina Singh, stated in a press conference that the United States «received short-notice notification before the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels.»
Former Russian President and current Vice President of the country’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, also commented on these new capabilities and, in a social media post, attached a video of the Oreshnik launch.
«Is this what you wanted? Well, this is what you get, damn it. An attack with hypersonic ballistic missiles,» Medvedev said in his profile about the Western attacks with long-range missiles from Ukraine and the international pressure on Moscow.
The war in Ukraine erupted over a thousand days ago, after Putin himself ordered the invasion of his neighboring country in late February 2022. Since then, the conflict has continued unabated, with the front lines practically stagnant since then, although there have also been clashes on Russian territory following the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk last August.
