Russia-Ukraine war: US warns Moscow may use new lethal missile against Kyiv soon

A United States (US) official said on Wednesday (Dec 11) that an intelligence assessment concluded that Russia might use itslethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again in the coming days.

The experimental Oreshnik missile was being seen by Washington more as an attempt at intimidation than a game-changeron the battlefield in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have been fighting a war since late February 2022.

According to a report by the news agency Associated Press, the official, who chose to remain anonymous, said that Moscow has only a handful of the Oreshnik missiles and that they carry a smaller warhead than other missiles that Russia has regularly launched at Ukraine.

US promises new security aid to Ukraine

The note of caution by the US came as the outgoing US President Joe Biden's administration promised close to $1 billion in new security aid to Ukraine.

Since the Russia-Ukraine war began, Washington has provided a total of $62 billion in aid to Kyiv. On Tuesday, the Treasury Department said that it would disburse $20 billion – part of a $50 billion multinational loan to Ukraine before Biden steps down from the president's post.

Russia first fired missile last month

Russia fired the Oreshnik missile for the first time on November 21 in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.Surveillance camera video of the strike showed huge fireballs piercing the darkness and slammed into the ground at astonishing speed.

Also watch | Ukraine war will not end in a day: Estonian minister

Just hours after the missile was launched, Russian President Vladimir Putin took the rare step of speaking on national TV to boast about the missile.

President Putin warned the West that its (missile's)next use could be against Ukraine's NATO allies who allowedKyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Russia-Ukraine war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos