Dutch defense minister calls Russia's strike on Ukraine with new missile ‘another escalatory step’

Minister of Defense of the Netherlands Ruben Brekelmans has said that Russia's use of a new missile is another escalatory step and stressed that the use of this type of weapon is unacceptable.

He said this in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague, when asked about Russia's use of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile.

“This is yet another escalatory step by Russia. Using this kind of weapon is unacceptable. It shows that Putin is willing to time and time again step beyond a new threshold. Last week German chancellor Scholz called Putin in search of a sign of goodwill, and the next day Russia launched a major missile attack. It is clear who is unwilling to negotiate and rather keeps escalating. That’s why Ukraine deserves our unwavering support,” he stressed.

As reported by Ukrinform, the United States assessed the latest Russian missile strike on the city of Dnipro as a medium-range ballistic missile launch and noted that the United States had helped Ukraine, its allies and partners prepare.