Putin says Russia will keep testing new missile in combat

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin said on Nov 22 that Russia would keep testing its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile in combat and had a stock ready for use, while Ukraine said it was already at work to develop air systems to counter the weapon.

Mr Putin was speaking a day after Russia fired the new intermediate-range weapon into Ukraine for the first time, a step he said was prompted by Ukraine's use of US ballistic missiles and British cruise missiles to hit Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was working with its Western partners to work out systems to counter "new risks".

Mr Putin described the first use of Oreshnik (hazel tree) as a successful test, and said more would follow.

"We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats that are created for Russia," he said, in televised comments to defence officials and missile developers.

"Moreover, we have a stock of such products, a stock of such systems ready for use."

A US official, however, said the weapon Russia used was an experimental one. The official said Russia has a limited number of them and that this is not a capability that Russia is able to regularly deploy on the battlefield.