Putin warns attacks on Russian territory dragging Ukraine war into global dimension

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in a televised address that the Ukraine war has obtained features of a global conflict after attacks by Western missiles on Russia's Kursk and Bryansk regions.

"Since this moment, as we have underscored repeatedly, the conflict in Ukraine, provoked by the West, has obtained elements of global nature," he said on Thursday, 21 November.

The Russian president vowed that the country would respond decisively in case of escalation in Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported.

He stressed that Russia has the right to use weapons against the military facilities of the countries that use their weapons against the country.

"I would like to stress once again that it is not Russia that is destroying the international security system, but the US," Putin stressed in the speech.

Meanwhile, he confirmed that Russia has successfully tested a new medium-range ballistic missile Oreshnik in response to enemy actions.

Putin criticised the West for escalating the war by allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range missiles.

“In response to the use of American and British long-range weapons, on 21 November 2024, the Russian armed forces launched a combined strike on one of the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine," the Russian president said.

He also emphasised that in combat conditions, one of Russia’s newest medium-range missile systems had been tested, "among other things. In this case, with a ballistic missile in a nuclear-free hypersonic equipment."

The launch signals a clear escalation of Russia’s military response to NATO's involvement in the Ukraine war.