Putin says Russia hit Ukraine with new intermediate-range ballistic missile (2024)

Live Reporting

Edited by Johanna Chisholm and Jenna Moon

Putin offers West warning as he confirms 'new missile' usepublished at 19:42 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
19:42 GMT 21 November
Image source, EPA
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After hours of speculation about what exactlyRussia used in its attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro this morning, we arrived at an answer when President Vladimir Putin spoke in a surprise address to the nation.
On Russian state television, Putin confirmed that Moscow had used a "new" intermediate-range ballistic missile, capable of attacking targets at a speed of "2.5-3 km per second".
This is different from what Ukraine had claimed earlier, as its president and foreign ministry alleged the attack was carried out by anintercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). US officials threw cold water on those claims throughout the day.
Had it been confirmed, it would've marked the first use ofan ICBM in the war.
The Russian president also offered a warning to the West, saying that Moscow was "ready for any developments", adding that today's strike was carried out in response to Ukraine's use of "American and British long-range weaponry".
The BBC's Paul Adams spoke with people in Ukraine about how the West - in particular America - figures in to the ongoing war with Russia, as they contemplate how to stem Moscow's advance whilst preparing for Donald Trump.
We're now ending our live coverage for the day, but you can monitor any later developments in our main news story.
US briefed Ukraine 'in recent days' ahead of Russian missile attackpublished at 19:40 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
19:40 GMT 21 November
Image source, White House Press Briefing/YouTube
The White House has confirmed that the US is aware of Russia launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine.
“We briefed Ukraine and our close allies and partners in recent days to help them prepare,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre says.
She refused to be drawn on specific details of the attack by Russia, but adds that the US has been sending “hundreds” of additional missiles to Ukraine to “strengthen its air defence”.
When pressed by reporters on whether this would amount to an escalation of the conflict, Jean-Pierre lays the blame squarely on Moscow.
“The escalation at every turn, at every step, is coming from Russia,” she says.
Russia says 'new' missile travels ten times the speed of soundpublished at 19:12 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
19:12 GMT 21 November
Chris Partridge
BBC News, Weapons Analyst
President Vladimir Putin tonight described Russia's new experimental ballistic missile as capableof Mach 10 - ten times the speed of sound, up to 3km per second.
It'son the upper edge of the definition of hypersonic, and few things can achievethis.
Speedis important because the faster a missile travels, the quicker it gets totarget. And the quicker it gets to target, the less time a defending militaryhas to react (after all, Speed = Distance / Time).
Aballistic missile generally gets to target by following an arcing path up intothe atmosphere and a similar one down towards its destination.
Butas it descends, it picks up speed, it has more kinetic energy and more kineticenergy gives it more options. This allows it to manoeuvre down towards thetarget - by performing some kind of defending wriggle - that makes interception bysurface-to-air missile systems (such as Patriot) particularly difficult.
Thisisn't new for militaries that have to defend against such threats of course,but the greater the speed, the harder it becomes.
That'swhy President Putin has likely placed emphasis on its speed in announcing thisnew type of missile.
USofficials told the BBC today that it was already aware of this new experimentalsystem and had briefed Ukraine and its partners about its possible use to helpthem prepare.
Nearly12,000 missiles have been launched against Ukraine by Russia since thisfull-scale conflict started. An extraordinary number.
Some 80% of those havebeen intercepted by Ukraine. Equally extraordinary. But these faster speeds of ballisticmissiles is intended to try to bring that percentage down.
'Louder and different' - witnesses of Dnipro strike describe Russian attackpublished at 18:41 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
18:41 GMT 21 November
Let's take you back to the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, where BBC OS has been speaking with residents Lidiia Piven and Valentyna Karas, who witnessed this morning's Russian attack there.
As we've been reporting, President Vladimir Putin has confirmed in the last hour that Moscow carried out the attack using a "new" intermediate-range ballistic missile.
With her husband fighting on the front line, Piven says she was woken up at 5:30 local time to the sounds of explosions and her first thought was that it was a regular bombing - the kind she was used to.
However, she said it became louder and she soon understood it could be something new.
After catching up with friends, they soon confirmed that they too felt like they were experiencing something new. And then it happened again two hours later, she says, adding that it was "like a bombshell".
Karas also said that the sounds from today's attack felt completely "different".
"We have grownused to various types: Shaheds, ballistic missiles, but today this wasdefinitely a different kind of noise," Karas says.
"And there were many explosions and therewere strikes. There were so many, it was very scary."
UN says Russia's use of intermediate-range missile 'worrying'published at 18:30 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
18:30 GMT 21 November
The United Nations says President Vladimir Putin's confirmation that Russia used an intermediate-range missile in this morning's attack on Dnipro is "worrying".
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"This is yet another concerning and worrying development. All of this (is) going in the wrong direction," UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric says, according to the AFP news agency.
He went on to call on all parties to de-escalate the conflict.
Putin says war in Ukraine has acquired global naturepublished at 18:08 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
18:08 GMT 21 November
Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor
In an address to the nation, President Putin said that following attacks on Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions with American and British long-range missiles, a regional conflict in Ukraine, as he called it, had now acquired elements of a global nature.
In response, the Kremlin leader said Russia had launched a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile at a target in Ukraine.
Western missiles, he said, would not affect the outcome of Russia's special operation – the phrase he still uses for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
President Putin said Russia considers it has the right to use its weapons against military installations of those countries that use their weapons against Russian facilities.
He accused America of destroying the system of global security.
Putin warns Western countries against supplying weapons to Ukrainepublished at 18:00 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
18:00 GMT 21 November
Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring
More now from Vladimir Putin's televised address, where he said: “We have the rightto use our weapons against military facilities of those countries which allowtheir weapons to be used on our facilities.”
He was speakingafter the ministry of defence in Moscow said Ukraine fired US-made long-range missiles and UK-supplied Storm Shadows into Russia.
“We are ready forany developments. If anyone still doubts this, they shouldn’t. There willalways be a response.”
He also went on to claim that Western nations will be unable to intercept Russian missiles, such as thenewly-developed Oreshnik which he said was used against Dnipro this morning.
“There arecurrently no ways of counteracting this weapon. The missiles attack targets ata speed of 10 Mach, that’s 2.5-3 km per second. ”
Putin says strike was response to Kyiv's use of US, UK-made weaponspublished at 17:32 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
17:32 GMT 21 November
Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring
More now from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who's been addressing this morning's strikes carried out on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro:
"In response to theuse of American and British long-range weaponry on 21 November this year, theRussian armed forces carried out a combined strike on one of Ukraine'smilitary-industrial complex sites," Putin says.
"In combat conditions, a test was carried outof one of the latest Russian intermediate-range missile systems. In this case,with a non-nuclear hypersonic version of a ballistic missile," he says, before adding that the "test was successful. The target was reached".
"One of thelargest industrial complexes known since the Soviet era has been hit onUkraine’s territory, in the city of Dnipropetrovsk. It is still manufacturingmissiles and other armaments," he adds.
Putin says Ukraine hit with 'intermediate' range missile by Russiapublished at 17:23 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
17:23 GMT 21 NovemberBreaking
President Vladimir Putin says this morning's attack in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro was carried out with a "new conventional intermediate range" missile. It was codenamed Oreshnik, he adds.
We'll have more on this development shortly. Stick with us.
High-stakes moment in war as Russia tries to maximise its gainspublished at 17:17 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
17:17 GMT 21 November
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Image source, Ukraine's emergency service
Russia has ratcheted up its air attacks on Ukraine this week and the ballistic missile strike in Dnipro appears to be part of that sequence of events.
On Sunday, more than 200 missiles and drones were fired at cities across Ukraine and Mykhaylo Samus, head of the New Geopolitics Research Network in Kyiv, believes Russia has been replenishing its missile stocks so it can cause as much of a psychological blow as possible on Ukraine by the end of the year.
This has also been the week that Ukraine fired long-range US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) missiles into Russia for the first time. President Joe Biden dropped his objection, apparently because of Russia's deployment of North Koreans to the front lines, and the BBC understands UK-supplied Storm Shadows have been fired into Russia too.
This is a high-stakes moment in Russia's war in Ukraine. There is a sense of Moscow maximising its gains and of Biden abandoning long-held red lines before Donald Trump returns to the White House and seeks to deliver on his claim to bring the war to an end.
- Continue reading about how Russia and the US are battling for advantage in Ukraine war ahead of Trump's return
Still unclear what type of missile was used, as Ukraine maintains it was an ICBMpublished at 17:03 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
17:03 GMT 21 November
Barbara Tasch
Live reporter
US officials who have been speaking to US media seem to agree on one thing: that Russia did not fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine, but it is still unclear exactly what type of ballistic missile was used.
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An unnamed US official tells the BBC that it was an "experimental" medium-range ballistic missile.
They add that Russia likely possesses only a handful of these experimental missiles and that Ukraine has withstood countless attacks, including from missiles with significantly larger warheads than this weapon.
But other US officials who have been speaking to CBS News - the BBC's US partner - as well as Reuters news agency and ABC News have said it was an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
Medium-range missiles can travel between 1,000 and 3,000 km (620-1,860 miles) while the intermediate-range one can travel between 3,000 and 5,500 km (1,860-3,410 miles). An ICBM can travel even further.
Ukraine, on the other hand, says that it was an ICBM but expert analysis is still needed in order to arrive at a definite conclusion. Russia has refused to comment on the matter.
The importance of determining exactly what type of ballistic missile was used is paramount as it will guide the response from Ukraine and its allies, some of whom have already warned that the use of an ICBM would be a clear escalation in the conflict.
US targets Russia with fresh sanctions on financial sectorpublished at 16:53 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
16:53 GMT 21 November
Image source, Reuters
The US has imposed further sanctions on Russian banks, specifically targeting - among others - the state-owned Gazprombank, which is the country's third largest bank.
The US Treasury Secretary says that these new sanctions, which target Russia’s largest remaining non-designated bank, "will furtherdiminish and degrade Russia’s war machine".
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan adds that: "The United States is imposing significant new sanctions on over 50 financial institutions to further degrade Russia’s ability to use the international financial system to fund and prosecute its brutal war against the people of Ukraine."
It marks the first time that Gazprombank has been targeted by US sanctions since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
President Zelensky welcomed the news, saying he's grateful for the "strong" sanctions which come at a "critical time".
Ukraine believes Russia used ICBM but awaiting 'expert' confirmationpublished at 16:21 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
16:21 GMT 21 November
Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring
The foreign ministry in Kyiv says Ukraine believes Russia has used an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time in the war, but is still waiting for "experts" to confirm this.
"What we know so far is that its flight characteristics match those of an ICBM, but we're also waiting for expert conclusions to state based on specific facts what type of missile it was," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Heorhy Tikhy has told a press briefing.
"Due to Russia using this new type of weapon against Ukraine, the foreign ministry has already taken and is taking diplomatic steps. In particular, we've been in touch with our partners to inform them of what has happened, of what we know," he adds.
Russia earlier refused to comment on the claims and its defence ministry didn't reference it during the daily briefing.
Firing ICBM at Ukraine would be 'clear escalation', EU sayspublished at 15:52 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
15:52 GMT 21 November
The European Union says that if Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine it would be a "clear escalation", AFP reports.
The EU adds it is still assessing the facts around reports an ICBM was used in the conflict.
Russia has refused to comment on the allegations and has instead claimed, without further information, to have shot down two UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano tells reporters that attacking with such a weapon would represent a "quantitative and qualitative change" in the war, according to the news agency.
"While we're assessing the full facts it's obvious that such (an) attack would mark yet another clear escalation from the side of Putin," he says.
Expert casts doubt on Ukrainian ICBM claimspublished at 15:37 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
15:37 GMT 21 November
By Matt Murphy & Emma Pengelly
An expert who has spoken to BBC Verify has cast doubt on Ukraine's claim that Russia has carried out a strike on the central city of Dnipro with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, suggested that the US would have detected the launch of an ICBM by the Russian military.
"Typically, ICBMs do not have conventional warheads. If one were launched out of an operational silo, the United States would have gone on alert fearing it was a nuclear attack," Cancian said.
Based on footage of the strike circulating online, Cancian said it may have been carried out using a shorter-range ballistic missile, which travel at a lower trajectory than ICBMs.
"The videos strongly suggest a ballistic missile because of the angle of fall," Cancian said. "There's nothing in them that requires the missile to be an ICBM."
Others have pointed out that using an ICBM to attack Ukrainian targets would be a costly move for Russia.
Ukrainian MP says now is the time for stronger support of countrypublished at 15:15 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
15:15 GMT 21 November
A Ukrainian MP says this morning's strike in Dnipro - which his country has alleged has the "characteristics" of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), was intended to be an "imitation of [a] nuclear strike".
Oleksiy Goncharenko, an MP for Odesa, tells BBC News that the area hit was "mostly civilian", so there was no military impact.
"It's more about psychology," the Odesa lawmaker says.
Goncharenko adds that if the West doesn't "stand firmly" behind his country, then Putin will "finish Ukraine".
He adds that "the time has arrived" for maximum support of Ukraine from other countries.
- For context: In recent days, the US has promised to send anti-personnel landmines as part of new military assistance worth nearly $300m (£239m). The Biden administration also gave Ukraine the green light to use the Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) missiles supplied by the US to strike within Russia.
Twenty-six injured in morning strikes on Kryvyi Rih, official sayspublished at 14:54 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
14:54 GMT 21 November
We can bring you an update now on Russian strikes that were carried out against the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih this morning.
Regional head of Dnipropetrovsk, Serhy Lysak, says 26 people have been injured - revised up from 15 earlier.
He says two women are in a serious condition.
Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, is the home city of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Videos circulating online show impact of Dnipro strikepublished at 14:35 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
14:35 GMT 21 November
By Benedict Garman
BBC Verify has analysed videos claiming to show a ballistic missile strike on Dnipro.
Most of the videos are blurry and of poor quality, revealing little more than a series of six flashes against the night sky.
But BBC Verify was able to geolocate the camera position in two of them, confirming the strike targeted an industrial area in southwest Dnipro. Synchronising these two verified videos with the others, it's apparent they show the same event from different angles.
In one video, it's possible to see that each of the six flashes is comprised of a cluster of up to six individual projectiles.
However, without more visual evidence, it's still unclear what specific weapon was actually used.
How did we get here?published at 14:23 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
14:23 GMT 21 November
This morning, the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro faced three hours of explosions. Ukraine alleges Russia used an intercontinental ballistic missile in their territory for the first time, while Moscow has yet to comment on the allegations. Here's a timeline that lays out how we got here:
- Sunday: US officials say Biden has given Ukraine the green light to use the Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) missiles supplied by the US to strike within Russia
- Tuesday: Russia's ministry of defence says Ukraine fired long-range missiles into its Bryansk region. Later, US officials confirm use of the Atacms to CBS news, the BBC's US partner. Ukraine has not commented
- Also on Tuesday: Putin approves changes to the country's nuclear doctrine - it now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia
- Wednesday: After warnings of a "potentially significant attack", the US, Spain, Italy and Greece embassies closed for the day
- Wednesday morning: Biden agrees to give Ukraine anti-personnel land mines. He also announces $275m (£217m) in extra supplies of ammunition for Kyiv from the Department of Defense
- Wednesday afternoon: Ukraine uses UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles inside Russian territory for the first time, the BBC understands
- Thursday morning: The Ukrainian air force says Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile. Russia has yet to comment on the allegation, while the US disputes the claim
- Later on Thursday: The Russian Defence Ministry says its"air defences shot down two Storm Shadow cruise missiles, made by the UK", but haven't said when or where
Image source, Reuters
Ukraine will allow deserters to return to service unpunishedpublished at 13:54 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November
13:54 GMT 21 November
First-time deserters will be allowed to return to military service unpunished as part of a new bill passed by Ukraine's parliament on Thursday.
Under the bill, soldiers who have deserted the military or are absent without official leave (AWOL) will not be penalised if they choose to return to their units voluntarily.
All criminal cases against them will be dropped, while their wages and social benefits will be restored.
The new legislation is part of a raft of measures designed to replenish the ranks of a Ukrainian military drained by its ongoing conflict with Russia.
In October, the Kyiv Independent news outlet reported that the government aimed to draft a further 160,000 people into the Ukrainian Armed Forces to boost troop numbers.