Putin touts Russias new missile and delivers a menacing warning to NATO Winnipeg Free Press [Video]

The new ballistic missile fired by Russia struck a military-industrial facility in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, but its real mission was delivering a deadly new message to NATO.

Hours after Thursday’s strike touched off a debate over whether the Ukrainian plant was hit by an intercontinental ballistic missile, President Vladimir Putin made a rare and surprise appearance on Russian television to clear up the mystery.

He described it as a new, intermediate-range ballistic missile that raced to its target at 10 times the speed of sound.

“Modern air defense systems that exist in the world and anti-missile defenses created by the Americans in Europe can’t intercept such missiles,” Putin declared in an icy and menacing tone.

The attack marked the first time that such a missile was used in the war — or in any conflict.

The dramatic events came in a week of soaring tensions as Ukraine …