By Athena Papakosta

Its president of Russia, Vladimir Putinchose to address, yesterday, Thursday, an extraordinary televised sermon. It was shortly after seven in the afternoon and the scene was the same as the one he had chosen in the early hours of February 24, 2022, when the Russian armed forces invaded Ukrainian territory. But what he said was different. This time, the Russian president appeared to directly threaten the United States and the United Kingdom.

As he stated, Moscow has launched a new supersonic medium-range ballistic missile against a military installation in Dnipro Ukrainian on Thursday morning and as the Russian Federation explained it now “has the right” to launch strikes against military targets of Western countries that have supplied weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces for strikes inside Russian territory.

Five days ago, early Sunday evening, local time, the outgoing American president, Joe Biden, had given the green light to Kiev to use long-range missiles against Russia, while three 24 hours later the United Kingdom had, now, allowed the use of the long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

Russia’s New Medium-Range Supersonic Ballistic Missile Is Called Oreshnik (Hazelnut) said Vladimir Putin, and its development, he explained, is “a response to the United States’ plans to produce and deploy medium- and short-range missiles.” As he stressed, Russia “will respond decisively and symmetrically” in the case of further escalation and added that the actions of the West have taken the conflict to new levels. “The conflict in Ukraine, from a regional one, now acquires the characteristics of a global conflict,” he said characteristically.

On his part, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with his post on the X platform (formerly Twitter), underlined that the attack launched by Russia with a new type of ballistic missile constitutes a “clear and serious escalation of this barbaric war”.

“It is yet another proof that Russia is not at all interested in peace,” he noted, adding that “Putin is not only prolonging the war, but spitting in the face of all those worldwide who really want peace to be restored.”

Earlier, Mr. Zelensky, despite reservations from his Western allies, insisted that the missile fired by Russia against Ukrainian territory was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), only to soften his position and point out that, after all, its characteristics resemble with those of an ICBM.

The White House National Security Council announced that it is an “experimental medium-range missile” and that Russia has only a few in its possession and will hardly change the course of the war. At the same time, the Pentagon’s deputy, Sabrina Singh, said that the United States had been informed through channels of reducing the nuclear risk before the missile was launched.

As the president of Russia himself stated, this is a successful test of a non-nuclear version of a ballistic missile. He explained that this type of missile cannot be intercepted by any air defense system and that it attacks targets at a speed of Mach 10.

Intermediate-range ballistic missiles, like the one Vladimir Putin is describing, have a range of between 3,000 and 5,500 kilometers. This means they can reach European soil but not the United States.

According to the Pentagon, the missile was launched carrying a conventional warhead, but Moscow – if it wishes – can modify it.

It is considered experimental by Washington because it has never before been used on the battlefield.

For war experts, Oreshnik may not be of much military importance in the sense that he won’t be able to change much in the field. However, its symbolic value remains remarkable. This new medium-range supersonic missile is a reminder that Moscow – which has already modified its nuclear doctrine – has a wide arsenal of different types of missiles and remains ready to develop more.