"Kyiv has launched a long-range missile strike against military facilities located within internationally-recognized Russian territory," he opened a televised address by saying this. He also confirmed that British-made Storm Shadow missiles and American-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) were fired at targets located in Bryansk and Kursk Oblasts. (Related: Ukraine war going GLOBAL after West launches long-range missiles into Russia, crossing Putin's "red line.")
The Russian leader said the regional Ukraine conflict instigated by the West has already acquired elements of a global one. He also blamed Ukraine's allies for supplying the weapons to the nation as Putin claimed that the systems cannot be used without the direct operational involvement of Western military specialists.
Despite this, Putin said the attacks were not successful as the inbound rockets were immediately intercepted by Russian anti-air defenses.
"The goals that have been set by the enemy have not been achieved," Putin said. While some personnel at a command center in Kursk were injured, he noted that the center is still fully operational.
He further asserted that no Western systems can counter Russia's new missiles.
"The use of such weapons by the enemy cannot affect the course of the situation in the Special Military Operation zone," Putin stressed. He also said it was a big mistake for the United States to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019.
The said long-range weapons attack by Kyiv came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said they were attacked with a "new Russian rocket," which he suggested had the "characteristics" of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
However, U.S. officials disputed this claim. According to the New York Times, "several Western officials said that the weapon was not an ICBM and instead was likely an intermediate-range missile that flies shorter distances."
North Korea beefs up short-range missile operations to augment Russia's weaponry against Ukraine
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), a U.S.-based think tank from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, recently concluded that North Korea has been strengthening its key weapons manufacturing complex to augment Russia's weaponry as its conflict with Ukraine continues to escalate.
The facility, known as the February 11 plant, assembles a type of short-range missile used by Russia in Ukraine and is part of the Ryongsong Machine Complex in Hamhung, North Korea's second-largest city.
CNS Research Associate Sam Lair said the plant was the only one known to produce the Hwasong-11 class of solid-fuel ballistic missiles. According to Ukrainian officials, the munitions also known as the KN-23 in the West, have been used by Moscow against Kyiv.
The think tank's report was based on satellite images taken in early October by the commercial satellite firm Planet Labs. According to the analysis by CNS researchers, there was an additional assembly building under construction as well as a new housing facility, likely intended for workers.
It also appears that Pyongyang is improving the entrances for some of the underground facilities at the complex.
The images further showed that a disused bridge crane in front of a tunnel entrance, blocking easy access, was removed, suggesting they might be placing an emphasis on that part of the facility, Lair said.
"We see this as a suggestion that they're massively increasing, or they're trying to significantly increase, the throughput of this factory," he said.
The new assembly building is about 60 to 70 percent the size of the previous building used to assemble missiles.
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Watch the video below that talks about how Ukraine seems to be "begging for a nuke" as it hits Russia again with ATACMS.
This video is from the TruNews channel on Brighteon.com.
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Putin revises nuclear doctrine, making it easier for Russia to target Ukraine with nukes.
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