Austria condemns missile strike on Kyiv and Putin's threats with “Oreshnik”

This was stated in a comment to Ukrinform's own correspondent by the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

“Today's massive Russian missile attacks on Kyiv are another dramatic escalation. These attacks once again targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure. Several diplomatic missions were also hit, including those of Albania, Argentina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, and the Palestinian Authority. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this latest gross violation of international law by Russia,” the Ministry said.

They also condemned Putin's threats to strike Kyiv with an intermediate-range ballistic missile, calling them “absolutely unacceptable.”

“We reiterate our demand for an immediate end to Russia's brutal, illegal and unjustified war of aggression,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry added.

As Ukrinform reported, 13 people were injured and one person died as a result of the Russian attack in Kyiv on the morning of December 20. The blast wave damaged the facade stained glass windows, as well as the towers of St. Nicholas Church, an architectural monument of national importance. In addition, the embassies of Albania, Argentina, Palestine, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Montenegro were damaged by Russian missile fire.

During a direct line call on December 19, the head of the aggressor country, Vladimir Putin, also made new threats, proposing a “technological experiment”: for the West and Ukraine to identify a target in Kyiv, Russia would launch a medium-range Oreshnik ballistic missile at it, and air and missile defense systems would try to intercept it.