The Kremlin said on Friday that the intercontinental ballistic missile attack on Ukraine should be seen as a warning to the West, the dpa news agency reported.
“The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a day after Russia hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new type of medium-range missile called the Oreshnik.
Peskov said the attack was the result of “reckless decisions” by Western countries, referring to the United States and some of its allies allowing Kiev to use their weapons to strike targets inside Russian territory.
“The contours of a further response, in case our concerns are not taken into account, are also clearly outlined,” Peskov warned, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
The spokesman confirmed that Washington had been informed of the use of the missile before the attack.
Peskov’s comments came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an extraordinary address that the Dnipro had been hit with six non-nuclear warheads. The Russian leader has threatened to use the weapon again, which he says is hypersonic and uninterceptable.
“This escalation, provoked by the West, has led to the regional conflict in Ukraine taking on global dimensions,” Putin said.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced an extraordinary meeting of the alliance’s council with Ukraine after the speech.
The body first met last year in Lithuania with the aim of deepening cooperation between NATO and Kiev.
