MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. Western countries sought to twist the narrative around Russia's Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile strike by painting it as an act of aggression by Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Radio Sputnik.
People had different reactions to Russia’s recent launch of the missile, according to the diplomat.
"For some, this was obviously a sobering moment, while for others it came as an unexpected surprise, because the power of American and Anglo-Saxon, Western propaganda also has a devastating effect, making people stop thinking for themselves. They had been fed the narrative that victory was just a couple of hours, minutes, seconds, days or maybe months away, that [Vladimir] Zelensky would come out on top. They lived with this belief, giving something up here, giving something up there, agreeing to some tranches," she said.
"For others it was a moment of absolute panic, and still others decided to twist the information again and say that this was done by Russia not to show that nothing of what the West declared will work on us, but instead trying to make it appear as though we are threatening someone, that we are proactively pursuing some aggressive policy," Zakharova went on to say.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21 that the US and its NATO allies had announced authorizing the use of longer-range weapons. Following the announcement, US and UK missiles attacked Russian targets in the Kursk and Bryansk regions, according to the president.
Russia responded by firing its newest Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile with a non-nuclear warhead at a Yuzhmash Ukrainian defense industry plant in the city of Dnepr, Putin said. The Russian leader said the West could bring upon itself heavy consequences, should its inflammatory policies prompt further escalation of the conflict.