Ukraine-Russia war latest: US warns Putin could use lethal new ballistic missile in ‘coming days’ against Kyiv
Oreshnik missile is ‘just another attempt by Russia to terrorise Ukraine, which will fail’, says US official
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Russia could launch another hypersonic ballistic missile in Ukraine in the coming days, but Washington does not consider the Oreshnik weapon a game-changer in the war, a US official has said.
Russia first fired the Oreshnik missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on 21 November, in what President Vladimir Putin cast as a response to Ukraine’s first use of US ATACMs ballistic missiles and British Storm Shadows to strike Russian territory with Western permission.
“We assess that the Oreshnik is not a game-changer on the battlefield, but rather just another attempt by Russia to terrorize Ukraine, which will fail,” the official said.
Putin has claimed that the Oreshnik, or hazel tree, is impossible to intercept and that it has destructive power comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, even when fitted with a conventional warhead.
But the US official downplayed the usefulness of the missiles, calling them “experimental” in nature and said that “Russia likely possesses only a handful” of them.
There was no immediate response from Russia.
US warns Russia may be ready to use new lethal missile against Ukraine again in 'coming days'
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Two women pulled alive from rubble 7 hours after missile strike by Putin’s forces on Ukraine
How Putin’s intelligence agents convinced Assad to flee Syria
Russia could launch another new missile in Ukraine soon, US official says
Russia could launch another experimental hypersonic ballistic missile in Ukraine in coming days, but Washington does not consider the Oreshnik weapon a game changer in the war, a US official has said.
“We assess that the Oreshnik is not a game-changer on the battlefield, but rather just another attempt by Russia to terrorize Ukraine, which will fail,” the official told Reuters. Russia previously used the new weapon on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, according to two senior Ukrainian government sources.
Germany's Scholz: Ukraine's path of European integration is irreversible
Ukraine‘s course of European integration is irreversible, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, adding Russian President Vladimir Putin had not achieved a single war goal.
Speaking at a German-Ukrainian economic forum, Scholz also said a lot of private investment was needed in Ukraine‘s energy sector.
EU envoys agree 15th sanctions package against Russia
European Union ambassadors have agreed to a 15th package of sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine, the Hungarian EU presidency said.
The presidency said in a post on X that the sanctions would limit the activity of vessels of third states operating in ways that supported Russia’s actions against Ukraine and added more people and entities to the sanctions list.
The sanctions package is likely to be formally adopted at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.
2 Ukrainian women are pulled alive from rubble hours after Russian missile strike
Rescue crews working through the night pulled two women from rubble more than seven hours after a Russian missile struck a private medical clinic in a southern Ukraine city, killing six people and wounding 22 others, authorities have said.
The women called rescue services on their cellphones to say they were buried under the rubble after the attack late Tuesday in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s Emergency Services said.
Deadly Russian strikes on civilian areas have been a feature of the almost three-year war. Ukraine’s Western allies are sending more aid to help it keep fighting Russia’s invasion, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Zaporizhzhia strike showed that his country still needs more air defence systems.
Read the full report below:
Two women pulled from rubble 7 hours after airstrike by Putin’s forces on Ukraine
The women called rescue services on their mobile phones to say they were buried
Russia tells citizens: do not visit US and major Western countries
Russia has said that relations with the United States were so confrontational that Russian citizens should not travel to the United States, Canada and some EU countries because they were at risk of being "hunted" by US authorities.
Maria Zakharova, foreign ministry spokeswoman, said that relations with the United States were teetering on the verge of rupture.
“In the context of the increasing confrontation in Russian-American relations, which are teetering on the verge of rupture due to the fault of Washington, trips to the United States of America privately or out of official necessity are fraught with serious risks,” Zakharova told a news briefing.
“We urge you to continue to refrain from trips to the United States of America and its allied satellite states, including, first of all, Canada and, with a few exceptions, European Union countries, during these holidays,” she said.
Russia's Putin and Hungary's Orban discuss Ukraine and energy, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine in a phone call with Hungarian President Viktor Orban, the Kremlin has said.
Putin told Orban that Kyiv’s policy continues to exclude the possibility of a peaceful settlement of the conflict, according to the statement which did not say when the call took place.
They also discussed bilateral trade and economic cooperation, as well as the further promotion of joint energy projects, the report said.
Kremlin plays down blow to Russia from Assad's fall
The Kremlin has played down the damage to Russian influence in the Middle East from the fall of Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad, saying that its focus was Ukraine and that Moscow was in contact with the new rulers of Syria.
When Russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, it helped tip the balance in Assad’s favour, so his fall from power dealt a serious setback to both Russia, which is fighting a major land war in Ukraine, and to Iran, which is battling US-backed Israel across the Middle East.
“You know, of course, that we are in contact with those who are currently in control of the situation in Syria,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Asked how much the fall of Assad had weakened Russia’s influence in the region, Peskov said that Moscow maintained contacts with all countries in the region and would continue to do so.
Moscow’s priority, Peskov said, was the war in Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin calls a “special military operation”.
Moscow has supported Syria since the early days of the Cold War, recognising its independence in 1944 as Damascus sought to throw off French colonial rule. The West saw Syria as a Soviet satellite.
Biden pushes new Russia, Iran, Korea and China effort before Trump term
President Joe Biden is pushing US national security agencies ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration to devise new strategies to tackle the risky, deepening ties among Russia, Iran, North Korea and China, according to US officials.
In exchange for Iran's help with the Russian war effort in Ukraine, Moscow is giving its ally fighter aircraft, missile defence and space technology, Biden concluded in a national security memorandum issued on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is giving North Korea fuel, money and technology, and is recognizing it as a de facto nuclear state. Russia is conducting joint patrols with China in the Arctic, the administration said.
The classified document was described in general terms to reporters. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea have disputed similar assessments in the past and accused Washington of destabilizing behaviour.
Biden's new document orders various arms of the U.S. government to restructure groups currently organized by region to better focus on issues linking the four countries that span Europe and Asia.
The document's strategies and policy suggestions could be implemented - or rejected altogether - by President-elect Trump, a Republican who takes office on 20 January.
Kazakhstan says Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia is unscathed after Ukrainian attacks
Kazakhstan pipeline operator Kaztransoil said on Wednesday that the Druzhba oil pipeline, which brings Russian and Kazakh oil to Europe, was not damaged during Ukrainian overnight attacks on Russian targets.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments