Putin threatens to use a missile “comparable in strength to a nuclear strike.”

Vladimir Putin has threatened to use a missile that he said was “comparable in strength to a nuclear strike.” Ukraine.

Russian The president said on Thursday: “We do not rule out the use of Oreshnik against the military, military-industrial facilities or decision-making centers, including in Kiev.”

Putin told reporters at a news conference in Kazakhstan that this ballistic missile would be “comparable in strength to a nuclear strike” if repeatedly used in an area.

According to The Guardian, he said: “The kinetic impact is strong, like a meteorite impact.” We know in history which meteorites hit where and what the consequences were. Sometimes it was enough for entire lakes to form.”

The president also claimed the weapons could not be shot down by any air defense system like those protecting Kiev.

However, he clarified that Oreshniks – which were used against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro earlier this month – are not currently equipped with nuclear warheads.

The threat comes amid growing fears that Putin could reach for the nuclear button in the war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said this was a “despicable escalation” on Putin’s part, while his team dismissed Russia’s claim that the Oreshniks could not be eliminated as “natural fiction.”

Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podoljak also claimed that there was “no such thing” as the Oreshnik missile and that it was just a modified version of the Russian ICBMs.

Still, Moscow has suggested that this threat was triggered by the decision by the United Kingdom and United States to give Kiev permission to use its long-range missiles against Russia – although President-elect Donald Trump could withdraw that authorization when he comes to power in January comes.

Putin also used Thursday’s news conference to praise Trump and said he was shocked by the assassination attempt on the Republican in the run-up to the election.

He said: “In my opinion he is not safe now. Unfortunately, various incidents have occurred throughout the history of the United States. I think he’s intelligent and I hope he’s careful and understands that.”

The Russian state news agency TASS also reported that Putin sharply criticized the verbal attacks against Trump’s family.

“The biggest thing for me was that they attacked (Trump) during the election campaign and not only subjected him to humiliating, baseless lawsuits, but also beat up his family and his children. “Even ordinary thugs don’t do that here,” he said he.

He added that he believed Trump would “find the solution” to the war and claimed Russia was willing to discuss a deal.

Moscow is expected to push for Kiev to cede all of the land currently occupied by Russian troops – about 20% of Ukraine’s total territory – although Zelensky has previously made it clear that this is a red line.

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