New air defense systems

Ukraine discussing new air defense systems with allies following Russian missile threat, Zelensky says

From CNN’s Daria Tarasova-Markina and Christian Edwards

Ukraine is holding meetings with its allies about developing “new air defense systems,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday, following an attack by Russia using an experimental ballistic missile a day earlier.

In his daily address, Zelensky said Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov “is already holding meetings with our partners on new air defense systems — exactly the kind of systems that can protect lives from new risks.”

“When someone starts using other countries not only for terror, but also for testing their new missiles through terror, this is definitely an international crime,” he added.

He thanked Ukraine’s allies “who have already responded to this latest bout of Russian madness.”

Zelensky’s comments come after Russia on Thursday fired its new “Oreshnik” missile at Ukraine’s Dnipro region. Experts have told CNN the attack was the first time a country has used a missile with multiple warheads, known as MIRVs, to strike an enemy.

In televised comments Friday evening, President Vladimir Putin said Russia will continue to test the new missile, which he claimed could not be intercepted by air defenses.