Russian viewers were shocked when a Kremlin spokeswoman got a call from an unknown person who ordered her not to talk about Vladimir Putin’s ICBM attack.
The tyrant launched a revenge attack on Ukraine after the country hit a Russian site using British-made missiles. Ukrainian authorities said this morning the Russian military launched an attack on Dnipro using multiple types of missiles, including one known as an intercontinental ballistic missile - or ICBM.
But during a live press conference after the attack, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was suddenly called by an unknown person. During the call, it appears she was ordered to immediately stop talking about the attack.
The man calling her said: “Masha [Maria], ballistic missile strikes on Yuzhmash [defence plant in Dnipro]. The Westerners are talking about it now. Don’t comment at all.”
The ICBM Ukrainian authorities believe was launched is the first reported on the invasion's front in Eastern Europe, marking a new escalation in the conflict. It follows confirmed reports Ukraine used Storm Shadow missiles to launch an attack on Russian territory on Wednesday, the 1,001st day of the invasion.
The attack comes following a raid on a Russian military installation on Wednesday carried out by Ukraine using British-made Storm Shadow missiles. The account reported: "On the morning of November 21, 2024, between 5am and 7am, Russian troops attacked the city of Dnipro (enterprises and critical infrastructure) with missiles of various types.
"In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, an Kh-47M2 'Kinzhal' aeroballistic missile from a MiG-31K fighter jet, and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers (launch area - Volgograd region) from the Tambov region."
Sir Keir Starmer had signalled the day before that the UK government - which had already supplied the missiles and allowed their use on Ukrainian territory - would provide the country with "what it needs" to fend off Russian advances. The government has not outright confirmed it allowed Ukraine to fire British-supplied missiles, with officials declining to comment citing operational reasons.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "My understanding is it is the first time Russia has used a ballistic missile in Ukraine with a range of several thousand kilometres. This is obviously deeply concerning. It is another example of reckless behaviour from Russia, which only serves to strengthen our resolve in terms of standing by Ukraine for as long as it takes."