The war in Ukraine seems to be escalating every day.
Putin now threatens to use Oreshnik – Russia’s new hypersonic robot – against Kyiv.
“He wants to escalate the situation now to ensure that President Trump cannot succeed in bringing this war to an end,” Zelenskyy replies.
The attack on Dnipro last week is believed to have taken place with a newly developed nuclear-capable ballistic robot, which is said to have a slightly shorter range than a traditional intercontinental robot. Russia calls it Oreshnik – and now it can be fired at the capital of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is visiting Kazakhstan, where he issued his new threat on Thursday.
– We do not rule out the use of the Oreshnik robot against military targets, the defense industry or decision-making centers, including in Kiev, Putin says at a press conference.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy comments on the robot threat on Thursday evening:
“Putin is the only one responsible for this war and the only one who believes in it. His current escalation is nothing more than a pressure strategy, aimed at forcing the US president to accept Russia’s terms later. We understand all existing threats,” Zelensky writes on X.
“To the thousands of missiles that have already hit Ukraine, Putin clearly wants to add thousands more,” the president writes further.
Cluster bombs against the power grid
Ukraine also claims that Russia used cluster bombs against the country’s electricity grid and other energy facilities in the past 24 hours. According to Ukraine’s air force, 188 Russian projectiles have been fired – most are robots, others are drones.
In Odessa this morning people were woken up by the sound of exploding bombs.
– It squealed very loudly. First there was an explosion, soon after five more. I don’t know if it was a cluster bomb but there were several explosions, it felt like that. We smelled fire smoke and didn’t know what to do. We didn’t go out for all the trouble, says Iryna, a resident of Odessa.
According to media in Ukraine, at least five people have been killed since yesterday and several have been injured.