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Russia prepared to respond to Western missile strikes on its territory — Serbian leader

According to Aleksandar Vucic, "anyone who believes that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will refrain from using these powerful weapons is mistaken"

BERLIN, December 27. /TASS/. Russia will not hesitate to retaliate against strikes on its territory using Western long-range missiles, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview with the German publication Handelsblatt.

"I'm just concerned that something serious might happen before a ceasefire is reached," Vucic said. "I mean further escalation when Russia responds to shelling involving Western missile systems. Anyone who believes that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will refrain from using these powerful weapons is mistaken," he added.

Putin said on November 21 that Russia fired its newest Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile with a non-nuclear warhead at a Ukrainian defense industry plant called Yuzhmash in the city of Dnepr to retaliate for attacks on Russian military sites in the Kursk and Bryansk regions using UK and US missiles.

The range of Russia’s Oreshnik system is up to 5,500 kilometers.

Earlier, the Russian leader stated that Moscow may use the hypersonic missile system again if necessary, but will not rush to do so.

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