Putin orders mass production of new 'unstoppable' Russian missile after latest attack on Ukraine

Vladimir Putin says a stockpile of "unstoppable" hypersonic ballistic missiles is "ready for use" after Russia launched an experimental weapon at Ukraine for the first time in a stark warning to the West.

The Russian president said the Oreshnik missile attack in Dnipro was a retaliation for Kyiv's use of US and UK long-range missiles inside Russia.

The attack marked the first time that such a missile was used in the war - or in any conflict.

In a nationally televised address on Friday, Putin sent a firm warning to the West that “no one in the world has such weapons" and that he will be starting mass production of the Oreshnik missile.

He said: "Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them, we are aware that they are under development.

"We have this system now. And this is important.”

He added that Russia "will continue tests, including in combat depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia.”

Ukrainian military officials said the missile can travel at Mach 11, meaning 11 times faster than the speed of sound, while also carrying six nonnuclear warheads each releasing six submunitions.

Putin claims Western air defence systems would be powerless to stop the new missile which could be as devastating as a strike with strategic, or nuclear, weapons.

General Sergei Karakayev, the chief of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the new missile could be fitted with nuclear and conventional warheads.

“It can reach targets across the entirety of Europe,” Karakayev said.

In response to the attack, NATO and Ukraine have reportedly scheduled emergency talks in Brussels for next week.

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using Ukraine as a testing ground for its new missiles "through acts of terror".

"It is undoubtedly an international crime," he added.

"The world must respond firmly and decisively so that Putin fears expanding this war and faces real consequences for his actions."

Undeterred by the Russian president's warnings, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer restated his support for Ukraine on the phone to NATO secretary general Mark Rutte on Friday.

Starmer gave the green light on Wednesday for UK Storm Shadow missiles to be used by Ukrainian forces inside Russia.

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