Russia may soon use new missile against Ukraine, U.S. officials warn

Russia could use its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile against Ukraine again in the coming days, two unnamed U.S. officials told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Russia used the missile against Ukraine for the first time last month in a strike on a military manufacturing plant in Ukraine’s Dnipro region.

What do we know about this missile? The missile does not give Russia a significant advantage on the battlefield, according to the U.K.’s Royal United Services Institute. The Kremlin likely used it last month as a political signal, the institute said. The Russian state-run news outlet TASS confirmed as much on Wednesday. The outlet quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov as saying that the Kremlin used the missile to send a message to certain political figures overseas, as well as Europe.

Dig deeper: Read Antonio Graceffo’s report in World Tour about how Russia and Ukraine are prepping for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.