Putin says stock of new missiles 'ready to be used' as Zelensky urges 'serious response'

Zelensky urges 'serious response to Putin's intimidation'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged for a 'serious response' to Russia's intimidation

We're hearing now from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who says Russian President Vladimir Putin will keep trying to intimidate Ukraine and needs a serious response.

In a video address, Zelensky adds that the West's response to Putin's use of the new hypersonic missile needs to make the Russian President feel the consequences of his actions.

He adds that the "Russian missile threat" can't be ignored.

The West should take Putin's warnings at face value, Hungarian PM says

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says the West should take Vladimir Putin's "at face value".

In an interview posted on his Facebook page, he also says that Russia has one of the strongest armies in the world, which is equipped with the most advanced and destructive weapons

"When dealing with a country like Russia, which is fundamentally different from us and bases its policies primarily on military power... when they say something in this regard, it should be taken at face value," added Orban.

What we know about the Oreshnik missile

On Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a few details about the new powerful missile which hit Dnipro earlier in the day - calling it Oreshnik, or hazel tree.

He said it travelled at a speed of Mach 10, in other words 10 times the speed of sound, and that there were "no ways of counteracting this weapon".

But beyond Putin's explanation, there appears to be no clear consensus about what it actually is.

Ukrainian military intelligence insists it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) known as Kedr (cedar). One Russian military analyst told Izvestiya newspaper it could be a scaled down version of this.

US officials, though, say the launch of such a missile would have triggered a nuclear alert in Washington.

Meanwhile another expert tells the same newspaper the missile could have been created on the basis of the shorter-range Iskander missiles - already commonly used on Ukraine - but with a new-generation solid fuel engine.

If, as Putin says, it is an intermediate-range missile, its range would be 2,500-3,000km (1,550-1,860 miles), potentially extending to 5,000km. This would put almost all of Europe within range.

No other nations have weapons like ours, Vladimir Putin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will continue to test Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missiles.

The missile fired on Thursday was "successfully" tested, Putin says, adding that no other nations have weapon such as this one.

Speaking at a meeting with defence leadership and members of his Security Council, he says the development of the news missile system is vital "as we face new threats".

The Russian leader says the missile cannot be intercepted and that "we have a stock of such systems ready to be used", adding he had now ordered the serial production of the missiles.

Playing with fear is a recipe Putin used already - German foreign minister

Germany's foreign minister says supporting Ukraine's self-defence is the "best protection" for peace in Europe.

Annalena Baerbock was responding to a question at COP29 about whether Germany was reconsidering allowing Ukraine to use German missiles.

She says Russian President Vladimir Putin used "missiles which hadn't been used before" with the aim of discouraging European countries from supporting Ukraine.

"Playing with fear was a recipe which Putin used already," she adds.

"The best protection of our European peace is to support Ukraine in its self-defence until Putin stops this horrible war."

Ukraine seeks upgraded anti-ballistic missile system

Ukraine is seeking to obtain the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), or to upgrade its Patriot anti-ballistic missile defence systems, according to news agency Interfax-Ukraine.

The news agency cites sources in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as saying that negotiations are currently underway with the US side regarding the systems, following Russia's attack with a newly-developed hypersonic ballistic missile.

"According to our data, the number of these new experimental missiles is very limited," Interfax reports, citing the same sources.

Describing the weapons used by Russia, Interfax reports its characteristics such as height and speed "are superior to conventional missiles".

The BBC has not yet been able to independently verify this report.

We should not bow to Russia's escalation, says Czech Republic's foreign minister

We have some more reaction from international leaders now as the Czech Republic's foreign minister has said the West should not give in to Russia.

Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv, Jan Lipavsky said that Russia is escalating the war in an attempt to scare people in Ukraine and Europe, and "we should not bow to that".

He added that the Czech Republic will continue to provide "unwavering support of all kind" to Ukraine.

-BBC