Ukraine war now a ‘global’ conflict, warns Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that the Ukraine conflict was now a “global” confrontation, directly blaming the West for causing the escalation.

Tensions have spiked since outgoing US President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine’s use of long-range ATACMS missiles to strike targets inside Russia. Putin framed this as a direct escalation fuelled by the US and NATO.

“The escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, instigated by the West, continues with the United States and its NATO allies previously announcing that they authorise the use of their long-range high-precision weapons for strikes inside the Russian Federation,” Putin said in a televised address late on November 21.

He accused NATO of crossing a “dangerous” line, claiming such strikes could not occur without the “direct involvement of military experts from the weapons’ manufacturing nations”.

Putin warned that these actions have transformed the Ukraine war into a “global” conflict.

“From that point onward, as we have repeatedly emphasised in prior communications, the regional conflict in Ukraine provoked by the West has assumed elements of a global nature,” he said.

Russia has claimed that a new US ballistic missile base in Redzikowo, northern Poland, increases the level of nuclear danger and that it is a prime target in any possible Russian attack. https://t.co/mEsxDY67Jz

— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 21, 2024

Putin’s address also confirmed Moscow’s deployment of a new missile against Ukraine, hitting the eastern city of Dnipro on November 21. Named Oreshnik, it is a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM),

“We also carried out tests of one of Russia’s latest medium-range missile systems – in this case, carrying a non-nuclear hypersonic ballistic missile that our engineers named Oreshnik,” Putin said.

In response on X, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the use of this armament against his country, labelling the move a dangerous escalation.

He then urged his allies to react strongly: “The world must respond. Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world. Putin is very sensitive to this. He is testing you, dear partners. … A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behaviour is acceptable,” he said.

Missile expert Fabian Hoffmann from Oslo University suggested the decision to use the Oreshnik was a calculated move by Moscow to unnerve Ukraine and the West.

Speaking to Reuters, Hoffmann noted: “This payload is exclusively associated with nuclear-capable missiles, [in this case] chosen for its signalling purpose.”

North Korean troops are now actively engaging Ukrainian forces in the Russian oblast of Kursk, multiple intelligence agencies have claimed. https://t.co/iOqWadwLFE

— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 14, 2024