Putin Suggests Targeting Kyiv With New Hypersonic Missile

Facts

• Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin suggested on Thursday that Russia's newest Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile system could be used to target "military facilities, defense industry enterprises or decision-making centers" in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.^[1]
• The Kremlin is currently selecting targets for further strikes, he said during the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Kazakhstan, alleging Ukraine has "repeatedly" tried to strike facilities "of national importance in Russia."^[2][3]
• Russia has fired at least 100 drones and 90 missiles at Ukraine over the past two days "in response to strikes deep" inside Russia. If Moscow decides to use the Oreshnik, the force of the strike "will be comparable to nuclear weapons," Putin said.^[4][5]
• Putin added that Russia has begun serial production of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile system, claiming "Everything that is in the epicenter of the explosion is divided into fractions, elementary particles, and turns practically into dust."^[6]
• Also on Thursday, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving more than 1M people without power. Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged that cluster munitions were used to target civilian areas and the energy grid.^[7]
• Ukraine used British Storm Shadow missiles and American Army Tactical Missiles (ATACMS) to strike targets inside Russia for the first time last week. The first combat test of the Oreshnik missile with conventional warheads was conducted against Ukraine's Yuzhmash defense enterprise in Dnipro on Nov. 21.^[1][8]

Sources: ^[1]TASS, ^[2]New York Post, ^[3]AA, ^[4]Al Jazeera, ^[5]Yahoo News, ^[6]Ukrainska Pravda, ^[7]BBC News and ^[8]The Telegraph.

Narratives

• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. The strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure are justified responses to Kyiv's attacks on Russian territory using Western-supplied missiles. The deployment of the superior Oreshnik missile system would demonstrate Russia's technological advantage over NATO and could significantly alter the balance of power in the Ukraine conflict. Moscow would use all means at its disposal were Ukraine to ever get hold of nuclear weapons or NATO membership.
• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Newsweek. The systematic attacks on Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure during winter constitute war crimes and deliberately target the civilian population, leaving millions vulnerable to freezing temperatures. Putin's threat is a despicable escalation of Russian terrorist tactics. The West must immediately provide Ukraine with more air defense systems.