Ukraine’s parliament has cancelled its session because of increased threats of a Russian missile strike against the capital. The announcement came as the Kremlin said it had carried out a hypersonic missile strike against Dnipro and claimed it was a warning to the West.
The suspension of parliamentary activities on Friday followed the temporary closing of several foreign embassies amid the perceived threat of a strike on Kyiv. MP Mykyta Poturaiev said recommendations were issued for the limitation of commercial offices and NGOs’ operations in the area, while local residents were alerted about the heightened danger.
Another lawmaker, Oleksiy Goncharenko, assailed it as “ridiculous,” contending that it only enhanced panic in Kyiv and played into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In another development, a spokesperson for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that work continues as usual in the presidential office.
Regular missile and drone strikes by Russia against Kyiv have been an almost continuous affair since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. On Thursday, President Putin claimed that a new intermediate-range ballistic missile had been fired at Ukraine by Russian forces in retaliatory strikes after Kyiv had used American and British-made missiles in recent attacks on targets in Russia.
The Kremlin said the new hypersonic missile launched at Dnipro was a clear warning to Western countries over their “reckless” behavior. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia did not have any obligation to notify the U.S., but it had warned America 30 minutes prior to launching the Oreshnik missile.
According to Ukraine’s intelligence agency, it flew for 15 minutes and reached speeds over Mach 11, with six warheads, each carrying six submunitions.
Peskov said that President Putin was willing to talk, but outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden was inclined toward “escalation.” The U.S. has already approved the use of its long-range Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, by Ukraine to strike deep inside Russian territory.
Zelenskyy called Russia’s deployment of the new missile “a clear and severe escalation” of the conflict, pressing for strong international condemnation. NATO will have an emergency meeting with Ukraine on Tuesday over the latest missile strike.
