The United States warned Ukraine that Russia was planning to use medium-range ballistic missiles against Ukrainian cities.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this during a press briefing on November 21.
The United States warned Ukraine of a ballistic strike RF
— We told Ukraine (about the ballistic attack of the RF, — Ed.) and our close allies in recent days to help them prepare, — she said.
Karine Jean-Pierre added that the United States plans to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses, as in the past, American leader Joe Biden promised to provide Kyiv with more assistance to gain a better position on the battlefield.
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— Just yesterday, as I already mentioned, we were able to announce another security assistance. This will continue in the future, we are unstoppable here, — she said.
Before this, the American television channel CNN, citing informed US officials, wrote that Russia used “an experimental medium-range ballistic missile” to attack Ukraine.
As the TV channel notes, although the US has not publicly named the specific type of weapon used in the attack on the Dnieper on the morning of November 21, Washington knew about the possibility of its use and warned Ukraine and other countries in advance, the official said.
Russia, according to an unnamed US official, most likely possesses only a “handful of such experimental missiles“.
In addition, the CNN source noted that Ukraine has withstood “countless attacks” from Russia, including missiles with “significantly larger warheads” than the medium-range ballistic missile launched at the Dnieper.
In turn, Deputy Press Secretary of the Pentagon Sabrina Singh stated that the Russian experimental missile that was used today to strike the Dnieper was probably created on the basis of the RS-26 Rubezh missile.
Shelling of Ukraine on November 21
Recall that earlier Russian dictator Vladimir Putin stated that the missile used by the Russian army to strike the Dnieper was a new Russian development and is called Oreshnik. There are no confirmed details about its characteristics yet.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated that the strike on the Dnieper was carried out by an intercontinental ballistic missile.
On November 20, the day before the Russian attack, the US Embassy in Ukraine announced that it would temporarily close that day. It resumed work late that evening. It was noted that the reason for the embassy's closure was precisely the expectation of some special shelling of Ukrainian cities.
Russia attacked Ukraine with a new ballistic missile on the night of November 21.
