Moscow launched another deadly attack on Ukraine on November 22, a day after firing what it said was a new intermediate-range missile that the Kremlin boasted was a "warning" for the West, after Kyiv reportedly obtained permission from President Joe Biden to strike into Russia with U.S. long-range missiles.
Two people were killed and 12 wounded in Russian strikes on Sumy, Artem Kobzar, the mayor of the northeastern Ukrainian city, reported in a video statement on Telegram.
Ukraine's air force said Russian drone attacks were under way in four regions -- Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Zhytomyr.
In the capital, which has been on edge for several days amid intense Russian attacks on Ukraine, lawmakers were advised to avoid the government district on November 22 and parliament canceled a scheduled session due to warnings of a potential missile strike.
"We were informed about the risk of a missile strike on the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv in the coming days. Putin has significantly raised the stakes. Tomorrow's parliamentary session is canceled," lawmaker Taras Batenko said, while lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said on Telegram that the next session was now planned for December, although parliament leaders have not officially commented on the warnings.
The office of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy assured the public that it would continue operating "as usual" on November 22.
On November 20, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine warned of a significant Russian air attack, prompting the temporary closure of its operations. The embassies of Spain, Italy, and Greece also suspended services for the day.
On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the "successful combat testing" of a new Oreshnik (Hazel Tree) intermediate-range ballistic missile amid the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Putin claimed the missile was used in a strike on Ukraine's eastern city of Dnipro, asserting it was a response to NATO’s "aggressive actions" and Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
On November 22, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that the test was a message to the West that Moscow will respond harshly to any "reckless" Western moves in support of Ukraine.
"The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries that produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine, and subsequently participate in strikes on Russian territory cannot remain without a reaction from the Russian side," Peskov told reporters.
"The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns are not taken into account have been quite clearly outlined," he said.
Ukraine's military intelligence said on November 22 that Russia may have up to 10 units of the new missile.
