Putin 'to retaliate with new Frontier missiles in Ukraine' after US and UK give green light to fire rockets in Russia

21 November 2024, 08:57

Vladimir Putin is preparing to retaliate against Ukraine with new Frontier missiles after the US and UK allowed them to fire rockets into Russia territory.

The Russian president is ready to unleash his RS-26 or Frontier missiles in Ukraine from a base in Astrakhan, local media reported.

The move comes in retaliation against the US and UK, after they gave Ukraine the green light to use their long-range missiles in Russian territory.

Residents in the village of Marino, close to the city of Kursk, claimed to have found fragments of the UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile on Wednesday.

The attacks were reportedly personally approved by Keir Starmer.

It came a day after Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine hit the country with ATACMS missiles supplied by the US.

Five missiles were shot down and one damaged, with fragments causing a sizeable fire at a military facility in the region, it said in a statement.

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Long-range missiles will help bring peace to Ukraine, says Ukrainian politician and activist

Russia warned that the move would result in a 'tangible response'.

Timur Syrlanov, a Russian military analyst, has now said that Ukraine should be "trembling" over the potential use of the RS-26 rocket.

"In this situation, we will not use nuclear weapons, but the neo-Nazis and their Western allies, I think, will appreciate in the coming days the blow that will be dealt to Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and, possibly, to targets in Kyiv itself," he told Russian newspaper Moskovky Komsomolets.

"Let them tremble, be afraid, and wait for landings anywhere.

"Moreover, the enemy understands perfectly well that our weapons can reach any targets throughout Ukraine."

Until now, Russia has been using smaller Iskander missiles in Ukraine.

The new weapons, which are yet to be used in combat, weigh up to 50 tonnes and have a 3,600 mile-range.

It comes after the US embassy in Kyiv was forced to temporarily close amid concerns of a "significant air attack".

Embassy employees were told to shelter in place if an air alert was announced on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Putin has also signed a new doctrine lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

The doctrine said any aggression against Russia by a state which was a member of a coalition would be considered by Moscow to be aggression against it by the whole coalition.

Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of the security council, confirmed the decision on Tuesday, tweeting: "Russia's new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia.

"Russia could retaliate with WMD against Kiev and key NATO facilities, wherever they're located. That means World War III."