Rorey Bosotti
Live editor

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It’s been another day of tensions running high as Ukraine renewed its appeal for a “strong response” from the West to Russia’s ongoing hostility.

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky kicked off the day warning Russia remains uninterested in peace, describing the use of a new type of missiles in Dnipro yesterday as a “clear and severe escalation”.

While Russian leader Vladimir Putin said the new projectile - codenamed Oreshnik – had been deployed in response to Ukraine using US and UK-provided missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

Nato insisted the attack in Dnipro will “neither change the course of the conflict or deter" the alliance’s support to Kyiv.

But Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said the West should take Putin’s warning – including the claim Russia has a stock of missiles “ready to be used” – at “face value”.

Russian forces struck the Ukrainian city of Sumy, approximately 30km from the border, killing two people and injuring 12.

• You can read more on how today unravelled in our story.

We are now bringing our coverage of the day to an end, thank you for joining us.

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We’ll be bringing this page to a close shortly, but there is lots more content across the BBC if you’re looking for more on this story.

• What might Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next steps be? Our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg attempts to answer that question
• You can read more on what we know about Russia's Oreshnik missile, which Putin says was used on Thursday to hit Ukraine's Dnipro region
• Seoul correspondent Jean Mackenzie has looked into Russia supplying North Korea with more than a million barrels of oil since March, which experts say is payment in exchange for weapons and troops
• And the BBC's Verify team have looked at data from the Institute for the Study of War to analyse both Russia and Ukraine's advances into each other's territory

Image source, EPA

Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, this afternoon, according to a statement from Downing Street.

They discussed the situation in Ukraine and the importance of "putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter".

Starmer spoke of the need for all Nato countries to "step up in support of our collective defence", noting the UK's aim to set out the path for 2.5% in defence spending this spring.

On the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, the pair agreed "this only served to further underline the indivisibility of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security".

Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor

Image source, Reuters

“What will Vladimir Putin do next?”

It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot this week.

Understandably so.

After all, this was the week the Kremlin leader lowered the threshold for the use of Russian nuclear weapons.

It was the week the US and UK crossed (another) Putin red line, allowing Ukraine to fire Western-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia.

It was also the week that President Putin, in effect, threatened the UK, America and any other country supplying Ukraine with such weapons and for such a purpose.

“We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities,” the Russian leader said in an address to the nation on Thursday evening.

So, you can see: “What will Vladimir Putin do next?” is a most pressing question. And, since I’m the BBC’s Russia Editor, you might expect me to have the answer.

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t.

You can read the rest of Steve's analysis here.

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If you've only just joined our coverage, here’s a recap of the day’s key developments:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia has a stock of new missiles which cannot be intercepted and are “ready to be used”
• Putin also confirmed his troops will continue to test Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missiles after "successfully" trialling the projectiles on Thursday
• Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to ramp up its warnings to Moscow about the consequences of escalation
• North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned the risk of nuclear war has never been greater - blaming the US for being "aggressive and hostile" towards Pyonyang
• Russia claims to have captured the frontline village of Novodmytrivka - near the Ukrainian town of Kurakhove - after months of advances

Stay with us as we continue to bring you live updates.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Dnipro, Ukraine

Moscow feels that it’s made a point, showing that Britain and America’s decisions to allow Ukraine to use their weapons on Russian territory won’t go unanswered.

Of course, since western weapons have been long used in plenty of other places that Moscow regards as sovereign Russian territory, from Crimea to the Donbas, this is hardly a new point.

But it’s also made a performative gesture with nuclear overtones, using an experimental, medium-range ballistic missile with multiple warheads.

It’s not known if the strike early on Thursday morning did significant damage, as Ukraine deliberately reveals very little about such attacks.

It’s widely believed the target was a sprawling industrial site, famous for its production of Soviet missiles during the Cold War and still in unspecified military use today.

But the site has been hit many times and any physical damage inflicted yesterday is probably secondary to the message it sends to Ukraine and the West.

That Moscow is still capable of matching escalation with escalation.

Image source, EPA

We're hearing now from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who says Russian President Vladimir Putin will keep trying to intimidate Ukraine and needs a serious response.

In a video address, Zelensky adds that the West's response to Putin's use of the new hypersonic missile needs to make the Russian President feel the consequences of his actions.

He adds that the "Russian missile threat" can't be ignored.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says the West should take Vladimir Putin's warning "at face value".

In an interview posted on his Facebook page, he also says that Russia has one of the strongest armies in the world, which is equipped with the most advanced and destructive weapons

"When dealing with a country like Russia, which is fundamentally different from us and bases its policies primarily on military power... when they say something in this regard, it should be taken at face value," added Orban.

Robert Greenall
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

On Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a few details about the new powerful missile which hit Dnipro earlier in the day - calling it Oreshnik, or hazel tree.

He said it travelled at a speed of Mach 10, in other words 10 times the speed of sound, and that there were "no ways of counteracting this weapon".

But beyond Putin's explanation, there appears to be no clear consensus about what it actually is.

Ukrainian military intelligence insists it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) known as Kedr (cedar). One Russian military analyst told Izvestiya newspaper it could be a scaled down version of this.

US officials, though, say the launch of such a missile would have triggered a nuclear alert in Washington.

Meanwhile another expert tells the same newspaper the missile could have been created on the basis of the shorter-range Iskander missiles - already commonly used on Ukraine - but with a new-generation solid fuel engine.

If, as Putin says, it is an intermediate-range missile, its range would be 2,500-3,000km (1,550-1,860 miles), potentially extending to 5,000km. This would put almost all of Europe within range.

Image source, Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will continue to test Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missiles.

The missile fired on Thursday was "successfully" tested, Putin says, adding that no other nations have weapon such as this one.

Speaking at a meeting with defence leadership and members of his Security Council, he says the development of the news missile system is vital "as we face new threats".

The Russian leader says the missile cannot be intercepted and that "we have a stock of such systems ready to be used", adding he had now ordered the serial production of the missiles.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Germany's foreign minister says supporting Ukraine's self-defence is the "best protection" for peace in Europe.

Annalena Baerbock was responding to a question at COP29 about whether Germany was reconsidering allowing Ukraine to use German missiles.

She says Russian President Vladimir Putin used "missiles which hadn't been used before" with the aim of discouraging European countries from supporting Ukraine.

"Playing with fear was a recipe which Putin used already," she adds.

"The best protection of our European peace is to support Ukraine in its self-defence until Putin stops this horrible war."

Image source, U.S. Department of Defense

Ukraine is seeking to obtain the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), or to upgrade its Patriot anti-ballistic missile defence systems, according to news agency Interfax-Ukraine.

The news agency cites sources in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as saying that negotiations are currently underway with the US side regarding the systems, following Russia's attack with a newly-developed hypersonic ballistic missile.

"According to our data, the number of these new experimental missiles is very limited," Interfax reports, citing the same sources.

Describing the weapons used by Russia, Interfax reports its characteristics such as height and speed "are superior to conventional missiles".

The BBC has not yet been able to independently verify this report.

We have some more reaction from international leaders now as the Czech Republic's foreign minister has said the West should not give in to Russia.

Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv, Jan Lipavsky said that Russia is escalating the war in an attempt to scare people in Ukraine and Europe, and "we should not bow to that".

He added that the Czech Republic will continue to provide "unwavering support of all kind" to Ukraine.

Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, international leaders have been reacting to Russia's attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, using what President Vladimir Putin described as a "conventional intermediate-range missile".

Here's the latest:

• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says the "threat of a global conflict is serious and real", adding the war is entering a "decisive phase"
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warns "never before" has the threat of a nuclear war been greater, accusing the US of having an "aggressive and hostile" policy towards Pyongyang
• The governor of Russia's Kursk border region says 46 Russian civilians being held by Ukraine have been returned to Russia
• Russia claims it has captured the frontline village of Novodmytrivka, located near the Ukrainian town of Kurakhove, after months of advances
• Meanwhile, Ukraine's foreign minister says he hopes emergency talks with Nato in Brussels next Tuesday will lead to "meaningful outcomes"

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine's foreign minister says he hopes emergency talks with Nato in Brussels next Tuesday will lead to "concrete and meaningful outcomes" against Russia.

His comments come after Russia launched a new type of ballistic missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro yesterday, days after Kyiv used US-supplied missiles on Russian soil for the first time.

On Russia's attack yesterday, Andriy Sybiga told a press conference in Kyiv: "This is a serious scaling up of the war, a serious escalation of Russian aggression".

"Next week's meeting will be held in the Nato-Ukraine format, and we hope for concrete and meaningful outcomes."

The governor of Russia's Kursk border region has said that 46 Russian civilian residents of Kursk, who were been held by Ukraine, have been returned to Russia following negotiations.

Alexei Smirnov said the civilians, including 12 children, had been moved by Ukrainian troops into Ukraine, after Kyiv staged a cross-border incursion into the western Russian region in August.

A Ukrainian army source told AFP that Kyiv still controls over 800 sq km in Russia's Kursk region, despite Russian attempts to dislodge them.

The source added that there are no immediate plans to withdraw and they would stay in the region "for as long as it is appropriate."

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that the war could "end today if Putin stopped being aggressive”.

In a round of interviews with regional BBC journalists the PM was asked if the UK is "at war" with Russia over its conflict with Ukraine.

Starmer replied: “No, we’re not at war, but Ukraine certainly is, because Ukraine has been invaded by Russia, and that war has now been going on for just over 1,000 days.

“That’s 1,000 days of aggression from Russia and 1,000 days of sacrifice for Ukraine, and that is why we’ve said consistently that we stand by Ukraine. We cannot allow Putin to win this war.”

Russia unlikely to have mass produced new missile - expertpublished at 14:31 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2024

14:31 GMT 22 November 2024

A former British military officer has told the BBC it is unlikely that Russia has mass produced the new Oreshnik missile, which President Vladimir Putin says was used to strike Ukraine on Thursday.

A Pentagon spokesperson said on Thursday evening that the missile was based on a variant of the RS-26 Rubezh.

Justin Crump, CEO and founder of the risk advisory company Sibylline, told the BBC that the weapon was likely to be a "limited or experimental" missile - similar to other recent military advances made by Russia.

He noted that the launch was possibly a "demo" of Moscow's capabilities.

But Crump added that Moscow likely used the strike as a warning, noting that the missile - which is faster and more advanced that others in its arsenal - has the capacity to seriously challenge Ukraine's air defences.

"Russia’s short range ballistic missiles have been one of the more potent threats to Ukraine in this conflict," he said. "Faster, more advanced systems would increase that an order of magnitude."

The Biden administration's decision in recent days to allow Ukraine to use US-made long-range missiles on Russian soil for the first time came "too late", says a Ukrainian military journalist.

Speaking from the Kharkiv region close to the border with Russian troops, Andriy Tsaplienko says that while US president Joe Biden's decision is a "positive sign", it has "come too late".

The "worst thing", he tells the BBC World Service's Newsday programme, is that Biden's decision was made public, meaning Russia was able to prepare for a possible attack.

On Russia's attack on Ukraine yesterday with an intercontinental ballistic missile, Tsaplienko says Ukrainian soldiers are unfazed by Moscow's move.

"We don't see any signs of despair among Ukrainian troops," he says, adding "the use of such missiles will change nothing here".

Image source, Getty Images

The US and Ukraine revealed earlier this month that North Korean troops had engaged in combat with Ukrainian soldiers for the first time, and satellite images show Pyongyang receiving oil from Moscow in return.

The number being deployed - originally put at around 11,000 by the Pentagon - has been debated. According to Bloomberg, unnamed sources believe Pyongyang may actually deploy as many as 100,000 troops.

It's hard to say how effective these troops have been. The secretive kingdom may have one of the world’s largest militaries, with 1.28 million active soldiers, but - unlike Russia’s military - the Korean People's Army (KPA) has no recent experience of combat operations.

To find out more about the troops, why North Korea is getting involved and what South Korea thinks, read our explainer.