Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed on Saturday that Ukraine is actively working to corroborate intelligence from the United States and other allies indicating that Russia is preparing to deploy a hypersonic ballistic missile system.
Zelenskyy posted on X, stating, “Our intelligence services have reported receiving data, including from American and European partners, regarding Russia’s preparation for a strike with the Oreshnik missile. We are in the process of verifying this information.”
He further added, “We are optimizing our air defense capabilities as much as possible, and we will deliver a fully proportionate response to every Russian strike.”
Concurrently, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv issued a security alert on Saturday, cautioning of a “potentially significant” aerial assault on Ukraine within the subsequent 24 hours. “The embassy, as is standard practice, advises U.S. citizens to be ready to seek immediate shelter should an air raid alert be issued,” the embassy’s statement affirmed.
Separately, on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that several individuals were killed and dozens injured due to Ukrainian drone attacks on a college dormitory in Starobilsk, located in the Luhansk People’s Republic. The Russian president indicated he had requested his military to formulate proposals in response to the Ukrainian drone strikes in Starobilsk. Putin remarked to military graduates on Friday, “It is insufficient to simply issue statements from the Foreign Ministry. Consequently, the Russian Defense Ministry has been instructed to present its recommendations.”
Conversely, Ukraine’s military refuted the Russian allegations of attacking the dormitory, asserting on social media that it had targeted a headquarters belonging to a Russian military drone unit identified as “Rubicon.” The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in a Facebook post, characterized “Rubicon” as a drone unit that routinely targets Ukrainian civilians and accused Russian media of disseminating “manipulative information,” while reiterating that Kyiv exclusively targets military infrastructure and adheres to international humanitarian law.
