Putin says massive bombardment of Ukraine is a response to attacks on Russia

Vladimir Putin, Kremlin leader, stated that Russia's huge strike on Ukraine on 28 November was in reaction to strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Source: Russian state-owned news agencies RIA Novosti and RBK, quoting Putin's statements at the Collective Security Treaty Organisation Summit

Quote: "Tonight, we launched a combined strike using 90 missiles and 100 drones. Seventeen targets were hit. I repeat: these attacks on our part were in response to persistent attacks on Russian soil with American ATACMS missiles. As I have repeatedly stated, there will always be a response on our part."

Details: Putin claims that Russian missiles and drones have hit 117 targets.

Putin also stated that Russia produces ten times as many long-range missiles as all NATO countries combined, and that Russian hypersonic systems "have no analogues in the world."

He believes that Moscow is aware of how many Western missiles have been supplied to Kyiv and how many more are expected to be transported.

"Russia will respond to strikes with Western long-range weapons, in particular, the possible continuation of the combat tests of Oreshnik," Putin added.

He further stated that Russia possesses many ready-to-use Oreshnik missile systems, which "can reach even highly protected infrastructure located at great depths. Everything in the explosion's epicenter is broken down into elementary particles and eventually becomes dust."

At the same time, Putin emphasised that Oreshnik is not a weapon of mass destruction; the Russians describe it as "high-precision weapons," but "it does not have a nuclear charge."

"The Ministry of Defence and the General Staff are choosing targets for [Oreshnik] strikes against Ukraine. These could include military facilities, defence industry businesses, or decision-making centres in Kyiv... Russia will choose the methods of destruction based on the nature of the chosen goals and the threats posed to Russia," declared the Russian ruler.

Background:

• On 28 November, Ukraine’s Air Force reported missile launches at 05:30. Russia was attacking various Ukrainian oblasts with missiles and drones. Explosions were reported in the cities of Kharkiv and Lutsk.
• NEC Ukrenergo, a Ukrainian transmission system operator, has implemented emergency power outages in Ukraine due to Russia's large-scale missile and drone attack.
• Russian occupants also struck infrastructure in Sumy Oblast with missiles on the morning of 28 November.
• Explosions were heard in the city of Kyiv at about 08:00, and the authorities reported that air defence was responding. Explosions were also heard in Mykolaiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Khmelnytskyi oblasts.
• Later, the Air Force reported that on the night of 27-28 November, Russia launched a large combined missile and drone attack against Ukraine's energy sector, with air defence destroying 76 cruise missiles, 3 guided aircraft missiles, and 35 UAVs out of 188 hostile targets.

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