Russia Ukraine war latest: Putin hails ‘unstoppable’ hypersonic missiles as Moscow ramps up threats to West

Related: Vladimir Putin hints at strikes on West

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Vladimir Putin has hailed Russia’s “unstoppable” hypersonic missiles as he threatened to strike the West in a coded message.

The Russian leader claimed there was no way of stopping the intermediate-range “Oreshnik” ballistic missile used to strike Ukraine on Thursday.

He said last week’s attack on Dnipro was a direct response to Ukrainian forces striking Russia with US and British long-range missiles.

“There is no countermeasure to such a missile, no means of intercepting it, in the world today. And I will emphasise once again that we will continue testing this newest system,” Putin warned.

He also said: “We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities.”

He claimed the new missile could be fitted with several conventional warheads and could be as devastating as strategic nuclear weapons.

Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile – which has a range of more than 3,400 miles and can be used to carry nuclear warheads – was fired from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea.

Despite the Kremlin’s rhetoric, Russian officials notified the United States about Thursday’s attack 30 minutes before launching the missile.

Turkey’s Erdogan to discuss Ukraine war with Nato chief

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the Ukraine war with Nato chief Mark Rutte during his visit to Ankara on Monday, a Turkish official has said.

On Wednesday, Mr Erdogan opposed Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets on Russian territory, saying it would further inflame the conflict, according to a readout shared by his office.

Turkey, which has condemned the Russian invasion, says it supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and it has provided Kyiv with military support. But Turkey it also opposes Western sanctions against Russia, with which it shares important defence, energy and tourism ties.

During their talks on Monday, Mr Erdogan and Mr Rutte will also discuss the removal of defence procurement obstacles between Nato allies and the military alliance’s joint fight against terrorism, the Turkish official said.

Andy Gregory24 November 2024 08:53

Robots causing 'standstill’ on battlefield, Ukraine’s former chief commander says

New technological advancements in the battlefield will prevent frontline breakthroughs along the Ukraine-Russia border until around 2027, predicts Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the UK Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

“When robots began to appear massively on the battlefield, they made any movement of soldiers impossible. The inability to fight robots led to a standstill,” Mr Zaluzhnyi told Ukrainska Pravda.

“We couldn’t move forward towards the Russians, and the Russians, accordingly, couldn’t move forward either,” he said.

The former commander-in-chief predicts that any serious breakthroughs on the front line would resume by 2027 when the use of such technology could become commonplace.

Vishwam Sankaran24 November 2024 08:37

Russia prepared to launch cyber attacks on UK, minister to warn

Russia is prepared to launch a series of cyber attacks on Britain and other Nato members as it seeks to weaken support for Ukraine, a senior Cabinet minister will warn in a major speech next week.

Moscow will “not think twice” about exploiting defence gaps to target UK businesses, and allies must “not underestimate” the threat it poses, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden will say.

Mr McFadden will also warn that cyber interference enables Russia to “turn the lights off for millions of people” and represents the “hidden war” it is waging against Kyiv, as first reported by the Sunday Telegraph.

In a speech to the Nato cyber defence conference, he is expected to say: “Military hard-power is one thing. But cyber war can be destabilising and debilitating. With a cyber attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids. This is the hidden war Russia is waging with Ukraine.”

Nina Lloyd has the full report:

Andy Gregory24 November 2024 08:19

Russia removes commander in Ukraine for misleading reports, war bloggers say

Russia has removed a senior general in Ukraine for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war, Russian media has reported, as defence minister Andrei Belousov attempts to clear out poor commanders.

Russian media cited unidentified sources as saying that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the Southern Grouping, had been removed from his command, though there was no official confirmation.

Russian war bloggers have long complained about the command of the operation around Siversk, in eastern Donetsk, where they say that poorly supported Russian units are thrown into deadly battles for little apparent tactical gain.

“Only the lazy did not write about the problems there: overall, it took the system about two months to react properly,” Rybar, a respected pro-Russian blogger said on Telegram.

“Anashkin, was removed from office for false reports in the Seversk direction,” Rybar said. One war correspondent for Russian state television also said Anashkin had been removed from his command.

In his reports on the change of command, prominent pro-Russian war blogger Yuri Podolyaka quoted Belousov as saying that “you can make mistakes but you cannot lie”.

Andy Gregory24 November 2024 08:02

Erdogan to discuss Ukraine war with Nato chief

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan is expected to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war’s latest developments with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte during his visit to Ankara on Monday, Reuters reported, citing a Turkish official.

Turkey, a member of the Nato, condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but has also opposed Western sanctions against Moscow with which it shares defence and energy ties.

It also has provided Kyiv with military support, stating it supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Vishwam Sankaran24 November 2024 08:00

Russia says it downed dozens of Ukraine’s drones overnight

Russia’s defence ministry said the country’s air defence systems destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 27 over the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

However, the ministry did not share more details on an earlier statement by the Kursk governor that two “Ukrainian missiles” were also destroyed over the region by defence units.

Meanwhile, explosions were reportedly heard early on Sunday in Kyiv.

The blasts sounded like air defence units at work, Reuters reported citing witnesses and Ukraine’s local media.

Vishwam Sankaran24 November 2024 07:30

Ukraine shoots down 50 out of 73 drones fired by Russia in overnight attack

Ukraine’s air defence units have downed 50 out of 73 Russian drones fired overnight, including more than 10 that were targeting Kyiv, Ukraine’s military has said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as result of the attack, Kyiv’s military administration said.

“The UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were flying in different directions towards Kyiv,” said Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration. “The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours.”

Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv in what sounded like air defence units in operation.

Andy Gregory24 November 2024 07:26

Russia is secretly developing a petrifying new weapon

Alexander Butler24 November 2024 07:00

’Generals must be in the trenches,’ Zelensky says

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that he supported measures to reduce bureaucracy within Ukraine’s army to “reduce the gap between a general and a soldier”.

“An officer must see a soldier. For me personally, a general who has never stepped into a trench is not a general. Despite their experience,” Mr Zelensky said in a statement.

“The generals must be in the trenches. This is that kind of war,” he said.

Ukraine’s president participates in international conference on food security (Official website of president of Ukraine)

Mr Zelensky said he believed his Russian counterpart’s main task currently is to push Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region by January 20, referring to the date when US president-elect Donald Trump would be sworn in.

“The morale of the military personnel is the most important thing,” he said.

Vishwam Sankaran24 November 2024 06:30

Zelensky calls out G20 leaders for 'weak position on war’

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky criticised leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations for their “limited support” for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president called out the “weak position” against Russia of the nations participating in the latest G20 summit, held last week in Brazil.

Mr Zelensky particularly criticised Lula da Silva, the president of the host nation Brazil, for his “weak position on the war”.

World leaders attending the G20 Summit pose for a group photo in Rio de Janeiro, Nov. 19, 2024 (AP)

“If we want good, normal relations between our nations, between our peoples, then, we should probably support people first, not aggressors, leaders of aggression in the world, like Putin, like today’s modern Russia,” the Ukrainian president said on Saturday.

“Without a clear stance from major countries – the United States, Brazil, Asian and African states – agreements with Putin will amount to mere stalling tactics and further intimidation by Russia,” he said.

Vishwam Sankaran24 November 2024 06:00