President Vladimir Putin says that Russia has launched 100 drones and 90 missiles at Ukraine over the past two days in retaliation for Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory. He also warned that Moscow could target Kyiv with new missiles.
Putin made these remarks during a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on Thursday, after Ukraine reported that Russian missiles had targeted its power infrastructure.
During the summit, Putin discussed Russia’s use of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, which was deployed last week in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. He revealed that Russia had begun mass production of the nuclear-capable missile and that the Ministry of Defence was actively selecting new targets in Ukraine, including “decision-making centres” in Kyiv.
In response to Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons on Russian territory, Putin warned that the use of the Oreshnik missile could have consequences comparable to nuclear strikes.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister, German Galushchenko, confirmed that the country’s power infrastructure had come “under massive enemy attack,” forcing the national power grid operator to implement emergency power cuts amidst freezing temperatures.
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks as a “despicable escalation,” accusing Russia of using cluster munitions to target civilian infrastructure.
He called these strikes a clear example of “Russian terrorist tactics” and reiterated the urgent need for more Western air defense systems to protect Ukraine from further missile assaults.
