Moscow, Oct 27: Russia’s test of a nuclear-powered missile that it claims can’t be stopped by air defences reflects Moscow’s determination to look out for its security interests, a Kremlin official said Monday, after the United States and European countries increased pressure on President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the invasion of Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said Putin should focus on making a peace deal, not testing missiles.
Little is known about Russia’s Burevestnik missile, which the NATO military alliance has code-named Skyfall. Putin appeared Sunday in an official video, wearing camouflage fatigues, to hear Russia’s chief of general staff report that the missile had covered 14,000 kilometres (8,700 miles) in a test.
The news came after a week that saw tough new US sanctions prepared for Russia’s key oil and gas sector and new European commitments of military aid to Ukraine.
“Russia is consistently working to ensure its own security,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said when asked whether the missile announcement was a response to the sanctions and a signal to the West.
“Ensuring security is a vital issue for Russia, especially against the backdrop of the militaristic sentiment that we are currently hearing, primarily from the Europeans,” Peskov told reporters.
Trump, speaking to reporters on an official trip from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo, said Putin’s talk about missiles was not “appropriate.”
“You’ve got to get the war ended. A war that should have taken one week is now in its fourth year,” Trump said. “That’s what you ought to do, instead of testing missiles.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday criticised the Trump administration for changing its approach. After talks with Putin in Alaska in August, Trump said he wanted an agreement on long-term peace and didn’t insist on a prior ceasefire, but now he’s changed his mind, Lavrov told Hungary’s Ultrahang YouTube channel.
“Now all they’re talking about is an immediate ceasefire … this is a radical change,” Lavrov said.
Trump’s sanctions decision, with the punitive measures possibly coming into effect by Nov. 21, has raised the stakes in efforts to stop the fighting. As Russia and Ukraine assessed next steps, they also sought out allies.
Lavrov was hosting his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, for talks in Moscow. Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops, as well as artillery and missiles, to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Sunday that France is providing additional Mirage fighter jets and air defence missiles, while the United Kingdom will supply more missiles and help produce interceptor drones.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said Monday its air defences intercepted and destroyed 193 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including 34 drones it said were heading toward Moscow. No damage or casualties were reported in the Russian capital.
Two Moscow airports, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, briefly closed overnight because of the attack. Airports in other Russian regions also faced restrictions.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 100 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, with 26 reaching their targets. There was no immediate report of deaths or damage.
Ukraine’s private energy company, DTEK, announced emergency outages in Kyiv, its surrounding region and the Dnipropetrovsk region. (AP)
