Ukraine’s parliament cancels session after Russia fired a new missile

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session on Friday as security was tightened after Russia deployed a new ballistic missile that threatens to escalate the nearly three-year war.

Three Ukrainian lawmakers confirmed that the parliamentary session previously scheduled was canceled due to the ongoing threat of Russian missile attacks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said.

Russia on Thursday fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile in response to Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address on Thursday.

The missile struck a missile factory in Dnipro in central Ukraine. Putin warned that U.S. air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile, which he said flies at 10 times the speed of sound and which he called Oreshnik — Russian for hazelnut tree.

The Pentagon confirmed that Russia’s missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.

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