Putin’s Ukraine Strike: Message to West After EU Border Attack
- Russia's oreshnik missile attack in Ukraine near the EU border aims to intimidate Kyiv's Western allies and signals Vladimir Putin's displeasure at recent foreign policy setbacks including in...
- negotiators unveiled a post-war peacekeeping plan for Ukraine, Russia overnight Thursday to Friday targeted an infrastructure facility in the country's western region of Lviv with the Oreshnik nuclear-capable...
- It is thoght to be only the second known combat use of the weapon.
Russia’s oreshnik missile attack in Ukraine near the EU border aims to intimidate Kyiv’s Western allies and signals Vladimir Putin’s displeasure at recent foreign policy setbacks including in Venezuela, analysts said Friday.
Days after European and U.S. negotiators unveiled a post-war peacekeeping plan for Ukraine, Russia overnight Thursday to Friday targeted an infrastructure facility in the country’s western region of Lviv with the Oreshnik nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
It is thoght to be only the second known combat use of the weapon.
While Moscow said the strike came in response to an alleged drone attack on a Putin residence in December, nearly four years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, analysts said the move was designed to send a clear message to Western leaders and frighten ordinary europeans.
“Vladimir Putin is using this to communicate with the West, because he could undoubtedly achieve the same operational effects without this missile,” cyrille Bret, a Russia expert at the Paris-based Montaigne Institute, told AFP.
“As Europeans are developing their air defense capabilities, this is a way of reminding them of their vulnerability,” he added.
The Kremlin has touted the Oreshnik as a “state-of-the art” weapon, which travels at hypersonic speeds, can hit targets across Europe and cannot be intercepted.
In a call on Friday, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany said Russia’s use of the missile was “escalatory and unacceptable,” according to a U.K. government spokeswoman.
U.K.Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Russia was using “fabricated allegations to justify the attack,” according to the spokeswoman. Ukraine has denied targeting Putin’s residence.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy said on Facebook the strike was “a new level of threat - not only for Ukraine, but also for the security of Europe.”
The missile,named after the Russian word for hazel tree,was first fired on the central ukrainian city of Dnipro in 2024.
‘Psychological weapon’
The choice of a new target located around 70 kilometers (40 m
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