President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russia’s use of a new medium-range ballistic missile, “Oreshnik,” to strike the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, describing the attack as a serious escalation of the ongoing conflict. His remarks come after Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the deployment of this weapon in Ukraine.
In a social media post, Zelensky stated, “Today, Putin admitted to making his second step this year toward escalating and expanding this war. A new ballistic missile was used. Putin struck our city of Dnipro, one of the largest cities in Ukraine. This is a clear and significant increase in the scale and brutality of this war, a cynical violation of the UN Charter.”
Zelensky emphasised that this marks Russia’s second major escalation in 2024. The first, according to him, was the involvement of North Korea, which has reportedly sent a contingent of at least 11,000 soldiers to support Russian operations in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president criticised Putin for ignoring international appeals to halt the expansion of the conflict. “He disregards calls from China, Brazil, European nations, America, and the rest of the world not to escalate the war,” Zelensky noted.
He also highlighted Ukraine’s right to self-defence under international law, particularly in the face of repeated missile and drone attacks.
“Our right to self-defence is no different from that of any other nation. When Russian missiles hit our cities and Iranian drones attack nightly, we will continue to defend ourselves,” said Zelensky.
Zelensky called for a stronger global response to Russia’s actions. “The world must react to this. A strong reaction is currently absent, and Putin is sensitive to this. He is testing you, dear partners. It is clear to everyone who is responsible for this war, who started it on February 24 [2022], and who invests all their resources to prolong it. He must be stopped.”
He warned that a lack of a decisive response could embolden Russia. “If there is no firm reaction to Russia’s actions, they see it as permission to continue. This is what Putin is counting on,” he concluded.
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