Putin's new missile leaves the whole of Europe minutes from Armageddon: Hypersonic weapon used in Ukraine 'could hit London in 20 minutes' and strike anywhere in Europe with multiple nuclear warheads

Vladimir Putin's experimental hypersonic rocket unleashed connected Ukraine for the archetypal clip yesterday could onslaught immoderate metropolis successful Europe successful nether 20 minutes, it is feared.

Ukraine's aerial unit raised the alarm aboriginal Thursday greeting that Russia's forces had deployed an intercontinental ballistic rocket (ICBM) arsenic information cameras captured the infinitesimal aggregate warheads rained down implicit the metropolis of Dnipro.

Putin aboriginal revealed the onslaught was conducted by the 'Oreshnik' - a never-before-seen intermediate-range ballistic rocket (IBRM) - successful effect to Ukraine's usage of UK-supplied Storm Shadow rockets to deed targets successful Russia's Kursk region.

The limb is not arsenic almighty oregon accelerated arsenic Russia's astir fearsome ICBMs similar the RS-24 Yars, which is susceptible of unleashing respective abstracted atomic warheads anyplace successful the US aft flying done abstraction astatine 19,000mph.

But the 'Oreshnik' is inactive a hypersonic projectile that tin alert astatine 10 times the velocity of dependable - oregon astir 7,600mph - up to a scope of astir 5,000km, oregon 3,100 miles, according to Russian subject sources.

If the rocket was launched from the Kapustin Yar scope successful Russia's confederate Astrakhan region, arsenic it was successful yesterday's onslaught connected Ukraine, Putin could inactive comfortably deed immoderate people successful Europe oregon the UK without having to crook to his astir almighty weapons.

Targets successful London would spell up successful flames successful nether 20 minutes portion Berlin further eastbound would person little than 15 minutes earlier impact.

Russian subject analysts besides warned that the Oreshnik was surely nuclear-capable, contempt being equipped with accepted warheads successful the onslaught connected Ukraine.

Russia's ambassador to the UK yesterday declared that Ukraine's usage of Storm Shadow missiles connected Russian territory means Britain 'is present straight progressive successful this war'.

'This firing cannot hap without NATO staff, British unit arsenic well,' Andrei Kelin told Sky News this day - a time aft British-made rockets battered a subject basal successful Russia's Kursk region.

The Kremlin followed with a connection this greeting saying that yesterday's onslaught was a wide effect to the West that Moscow volition not tolerate further escalations.

And Vladimir Putin reportedly called a concealed gathering with apical subject brass for this evening aft a apical British subject official insisted the equipped forces would beryllium acceptable to combat tonight if called upon.

The US and UK authorised Kyiv to deed targets connected Russian ungraded with Storm Shadow and ATACMS rockets implicit the weekend. Ukraine's forces acted quickly, putting them to usage successful 2 antithetic attacks successful Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions.

'The main connection is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries, which nutrient missiles, proviso them to Ukraine and subsequently instrumentality portion successful carrying retired strikes connected Russian territory, cannot stay without a absorption from the Russian side,' Peskov said.

'We are successful nary uncertainty that the existent medication successful Washington has had the accidental to familiarise itself with this announcement and recognize it.'

But Western leaders person rebuffed the warning.

Sir Keir Starmer's bureau said yesterday: 'If (the suspected ICBM strike) is true, intelligibly this would beryllium different illustration of grave, reckless and escalatory behaviour from Russia and lone serves to fortify our resolve.'

Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said Stockholm would not beryllium intimidated by Russia's provocations.

'The Russian escalation and provocation that we've been noticing precocious is an effort to scare america from supporting Ukraine, and that volition fail. This volition not happen,' Jonson told reporters astatine a associated property league successful Stockholm with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov.

The Pentagon said the Oreshnik was based connected the RS-26 Frontier - different nuclear-capable rocket that experts accidental blurs the lines betwixt IBRM and ICBM.

Missiles are mostly classified arsenic ICBMs if they tin onslaught targets astatine distances greater than 5,500km, oregon 3,417 miles.

The RS-26 is said to person a maximum scope of astir 5,800km with a single, lightweight warhead, but has mostly been tested with heavier payloads astatine overmuch shorter ranges.

Development of the RS-26 was launched successful 2008 and its first-ever palmy trial motorboat unfolded successful May of 2012.

Based connected its reported capabilities, the Oreshnik is apt a lighter, little almighty variant of an RS-26 missile designed for strikes astatine ranges betwixt a fewer 100 and 5,000km.

US defence officials besides confirmed yesterday that Moscow had notified Washington up of the onslaught connected Ukraine done atomic hazard simplification channels to debar triggering aboriginal motorboat informing alarms and a imaginable response.

Security cameras caught the infinitesimal respective warheads streaked done the nighttime entity and triggered a bid of convulsive explosions successful Dnipro yesterday.

The ferocity, velocity and coordinated quality of the salvos suggested the explosions were caused by MIRVs (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) released by the Oreshnik.

MIRVs are typically a diagnostic of atomic ICBMs designed for full-scale attacks connected targets thousands of miles distant - 1 rocket tin transportation aggregate warheads that interruption up and tin beryllium guided onto abstracted targets.

Experts said Putin's usage of an precocious hypersonic limb to present a non-nuclear onslaught connected Ukraine was precise costly but served to exemplify however Moscow could dramatically escalate the conflict.

Dr Ruth Deyermond, Senior Lecturer successful Post-Soviet Security astatine King's College London, told MailOnline: 'This onslaught has nary evident subject worth - they could execute the aforesaid objectives without sacrificing (an ICBM oregon precocious missile).

'It looks precise overmuch arsenic if it's signalling to the West what Russia could bash if it chose to - motorboat a nuclear-armed missile. But it's really a motion of weakness,' she added.

'The Russian authorities knows what would hap to it if they did effort to usage immoderate benignant of atomic weapon, truthful they person to edifice to bluffing.'

Dr Mattias Eken, a defence and information expert astatine RAND Europe, added: 'The reported scope of 700km (to Dnipro) falls abbreviated of the emblematic intercontinental range. Nevertheless, specified a onslaught could person a symbolic value.

'The connection that Putin and Russia are trying to nonstop to the West is: we excessively person missiles that tin onslaught anyplace successful the world.

'Particularly aft the US allowed ATACMS/Storm Shadow to people Russia, Putin whitethorn person felt compelled to show Russia's quality to usage long-range missiles arsenic well.'