Putin’s new missile leaves all of Europe minutes from Armageddon: hypersonic weapon used in Ukraine ‘could hit London in 20 minutes’ and strike anywhere in Europe with multiple nuclear warheads

It is feared that Vladimir Putin’s experimental hypersonic missile, which was first fired into Ukraine yesterday, could hit any city in Europe in less than 20 minutes.

Ukraine’s air force sounded the alarm early Thursday morning that Russian forces had deployed an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), as security cameras captured the moment multiple nuclear warheads rained down over the city of Dnipro.

Putin later revealed that the attack was carried out by the ‘Oreshnik’ – a never-before-seen intermediate-range ballistic missile (IBRM) – in response to Ukraine’s use of British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets in the Russia’s Kursk region.

The weapon is not as powerful or fast as Russia’s most fearsome ICBMs, such as the RS-24 Yars, which is capable of unleashing several individual nuclear warheads anywhere in the U.S. after traveling through space at 19,000 miles per hour has flown.

But the ‘Oreshnik’ is still a hypersonic projectile that can fly ten times the speed of sound (about 12,000 kilometers per hour) to a range of roughly 5,000 km, or 3,100 miles, according to Russian military sources.

If the missile were launched from the Kapustin Yar range in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region, as in yesterday’s attack on Ukraine, Putin could still easily hit any target in Europe or Britain without having to use his most powerful weapons to use.

Targets in London would go up in flames within 20 minutes, while Berlin, further east, would have less than 15 minutes before impact.

Russian military analysts also warned that the Oreshnik certainly had nuclear capabilities, despite being armed with conventional nuclear warheads in the attack on Ukraine.

Security camera footage from the central-eastern city of Dnipro showed several projectiles shooting inwards and detonating in a series of violent, fiery explosions

The moment when Russia first used the Oreshnik to attack Dnipro, on November 21

A Russian animation simulates how a Yars ICBM is deployed

The RS-24 Yars can unleash up to four separate nuclear warheads anywhere in the US after flying through space at 30,000 km/h

Russia’s ambassador to Britain said yesterday that Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow missiles on Russian territory means Britain is “now directly involved in this war.”

“This fire cannot take place without NATO personnel, and also without British personnel,” Andrei Kelin told Sky News this afternoon – a day after British-made missiles targeted a military base in Russia’s Kursk region.

The Kremlin followed this morning with a statement saying yesterday’s attack was a clear response to the West that Moscow will not tolerate further escalations.

And Vladimir Putin reportedly called a secret meeting with the military’s top brass for this evening, after a top British military official insisted that the armed forces would be ready to fight tonight if called upon.

The US and Britain have given Kiev permission to hit targets on Russian territory this weekend with Storm Shadow and ATACMS missiles. Ukrainian forces acted quickly and deployed them in two separate attacks in the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk.

“The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries, which produce missiles, deliver them to Ukraine and then participate in attacks on Russian territory, cannot continue without a response from the Russian side,” Peskov said.

“We have no doubt that the current administration in Washington has had the opportunity to familiarize itself with and understand this announcement.”

But Western leaders have dismissed the warning.

Sir Keir Starmer’s office said yesterday: ‘If (the suspected ICBM attack) is true, this would clearly be another example of serious, reckless and escalating behavior from Russia and this would only serve to strengthen our resolve.’

Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said Stockholm will not be intimidated by Russian provocations.

“The Russian escalation and provocation we have seen lately is an attempt to scare us into supporting Ukraine, and it will fail. This will not happen,” Jonson told reporters at a joint press conference in Stockholm with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov.

A selection of handout images released by the Russian Defense Ministry on March 1, 2024, showing the test firing of an ICBM from the country’s nuclear deterrent forces

Zelensky said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was using Ukraine as a testing ground for weapons

One image shows a written indentation on a piece of metal that reads: ‘Storm Shadow’

The Pentagon said the Oreshnik was based on the RS-26 Frontier – another nuclear-capable missile that experts say blurs the lines between IBMM and ICBM.

Missiles are generally classified as ICBMs if they can strike targets at ranges greater than 5,500 km or 3,417 miles.

The RS-26 is said to have a maximum range of approximately 5,800 km with a single, lightweight warhead, but has mainly been tested with heavier payloads at much shorter ranges.

Development of the RS-26 was launched in 2008 and the very first successful test launch took place in May 2012.

Based on its reported capabilities, the Oreshnik is likely a lighter, less powerful variant of an RS-26 missile, designed for attacks at ranges between a few hundred and 5,000 km.

US defense officials also confirmed yesterday that Moscow had informed Washington through nuclear risk mitigation channels ahead of the attack on Ukraine to avoid triggering early warning alerts for a possible response.

Security cameras yesterday captured the moment several nuclear warheads blasted through the night sky, setting off a series of violent explosions in Dnipro.

The ferocity, speed and coordinated nature of the salvos suggested that the explosions were caused by MIRVs (multiple, independently targetable reentry vehicles) released by the Oreshnik.

MIRVs are typically a feature of nuclear ICBMs designed for large-scale attacks on targets thousands of miles away – one missile can carry multiple warheads that break apart and can be guided to separate targets.

RS-26 or Frontier missiles have a range of 3,600 miles, although they have never been used in combat

Fires rage in Dnipro after the Oreshnik attack

Experts said Putin’s use of an advanced hypersonic weapon to carry out a non-nuclear attack on Ukraine was very costly but illustrated how Moscow could dramatically escalate the conflict.

Dr. Ruth Deyermond, senior lecturer in post-Soviet security at King’s College London, told MailOnline: ‘This attack has no obvious military value – they could achieve the same objectives without sacrificing (an ICBM or an advanced missile).

“It looks like it’s signaling to the West what Russia could do if it so chooses: launch a nuclear-armed missile.” But it’s actually a sign of weakness,” she added.

“The Russian government knows what would happen if they tried to use a nuclear weapon, so they have to resort to bluffing.”

Dr. Mattias Eken, a defense and security analyst at RAND Europe, added: ‘The reported range of 700 km (to Dnipro) falls short of the typical intercontinental range. Nevertheless, such a strike can have a symbolic value.

‘The message that Putin and Russia are trying to send to the West is: we too have missiles that can strike anywhere in the world.

‘Especially after the US allowed ATACMS/Storm Shadow to target Russia, Putin may have felt compelled to demonstrate that Russia could also use long-range missiles.’