Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with heads of municipalities in the constituent entities of Russia as part of the All-Russian Municipal Forum "Small Motherland - the Strength of Russia", in the Moscow region on January 16, 2024.—AFP photo

President Vladimir Putin says Russia will keep testing its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile in combat and has a stock ready for use, while Ukraine said it was already at work to develop air systems to counter the weapon.

Putin was speaking on Friday, a day after Russia fired the new intermediate-range weapon into Ukraine for the first time, a step he said was prompted by Ukraine’s use of US ballistic missiles and British cruise missiles to hit Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was working with its Western partners to work out systems to counter “new risks”.

Putin described the first use of Oreshnik (hazel tree) as a successful test, and said more would follow.

“We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats that are created for Russia,” he said in televised comments.

“Moreover, we have a stock of such products, a stock of such systems ready for use.”

The comments came hours after Ukraine’s parliament cancelled its session, citing the risk of a Russian missile attack on the capital. The closing of parliament followed a decision by several foreign embassies to temporarily shut operations over the threat of a strike on Kyiv.

“There was also a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and NGOs that remain in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” MP Mykyta Poturaiev said.

Another member of parliament, Oleksiy Goncharenko, described the decision as “ridiculous”, saying it only “created even more panic” in Kyiv and played into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy’s spokesperson told journalists that the presidential office was working as usual.

Kyiv has been regularly targeted by Russian missiles and drones since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

On Thursday, Putin said Russian forces fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine in response to Kyiv’s use this week of missiles made in the United States and United Kingdom in attacks on targets in Russia.

The Kremlin said on Friday that the newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile it launched on the central city of Dnipro was a warning to Western countries that Russia will respond to their “reckless” actions.

Russia had not been obliged to warn the US but did so anyway 30 minutes before the launch of the Oreshnik, or “hazel tree”, missile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The weapon flew for 15 minutes and reached a maximum speed of beyond Mach 11, Ukraine’s spy agency said on Friday, adding: “The missile was equipped with six warheads: each equipped with six submunitions.”

Peskov insisted that Putin remained open to dialogue despite what he called outgoing US President Joe Biden’s preference for “escalation”. The US approved Ukraine’s use of its long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to conduct strikes deep inside Russian territory.

Zelenskyy, speaking in his nightly video address on Friday, described Russia’s use of the new missile as an escalation.

“On my behalf, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine is already holding meetings with our partners regarding new air defence systems capable of protecting lives from new risks,” he said.

“When someone starts using other countries not only for terror, but also for testing their new missiles through acts of terror, then this is clearly an international crime.”

Ukrainians, he said, had to remain vigilant.

“We must be aware that ‘comrade’ Putin will keep trying to intimidate us,” he said. “That is how he built all his power.”

NATO will hold an emergency meeting with Ukraine on Tuesday to discuss the missile strike.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies