Putin "Considering Striking Kyiv Decision-Making Base with Hypersonic Missiles"

Putin "Selecting targets... Possibility of Oreshnik test"

Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering bombing the "decision-making base" in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, with hypersonic missiles.

According to AFP and other sources on the 28th (local time), at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Collective Security Council (CSC) meeting held in Astana, Kazakhstan, President Putin warned, "We will respond to Ukraine's attack on Russian territory with Western long-range missiles."

He said, "The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff are currently selecting targets to strike," adding, "These could be military facilities, defense industry facilities, or the decision-making base in Kyiv."

President Putin also added, "There is a possibility of continuing to test the hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile Oreshnik in combat situations, as was done on the 21st."

Russia has attacked Kyiv so far, but key government facilities within Kyiv have not suffered serious damage thanks to air defense systems. However, Russia claims that Ukraine's air defense cannot intercept the new Oreshnik missile.

Yonhap News

President Putin also claimed that the large-scale air raids on Ukraine are a response to Ukraine's attack on Russian territory using the long-range tactical ballistic missile ATACMS provided by the United States.

Ukraine first used ATACMS on the 19th to strike a Russian military facility in Bryansk and has since launched this missile at least twice more into the Kursk region.

Meanwhile, Russia has stipulated providing a nuclear umbrella to CSTO countries. According to Russian TASS news agency and others, Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, told reporters at the CSTO Foreign and Defense Ministers' Council that the recently revised nuclear use doctrine includes provisions to provide a nuclear umbrella to allied countries, meaning "naturally, CSTO member states are prioritized."

Earlier, on the 19th, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the revised "Foundations of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence (Nuclear Doctrine)." The core of the revised nuclear doctrine is that even non-nuclear states that attack Russia with the support of nuclear-armed states can be considered as conducting a "joint attack" and may be retaliated against with nuclear weapons. This is interpreted as effectively targeting Ukraine, which receives support from Western nuclear powers (the US, UK, and France).