Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted to Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement about the use of an Oreshnik medium-range missile against Ukraine, reports Ukrainska Pravda.

"Putin has admitted taking the second step this year towards escalating and expanding this war. A new ballistic missile was used. Putin struck our city of Dnipro—one of the largest cities in Ukraine. This is a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war - a cynical violation of the UN Charter by Russia. Let me emphasize: this is already Russia’s second step towards escalation this year. The first such step was involving North Korea in the war against Ukraine with a contingent of at least 11,000 soldiers," Zelenskyy noted.

The Ukrainian president said that Putin has taken both of these steps while ignoring global calls to avoid escalation. "He disregards calls from China, Brazil, European countries, the US and other countries," Zelenskyy stated.

The president of Ukraine added that his country has used long-range weapons before, which is not a new development.

"And we have every right to do so under international law. Our right to self-defense is the same as that of any other nation. When Russian missiles hit our cities, when Iranian-made Shahed drones attack Ukraine every night, when a North Korean contingent is deployed on our border," concluded the president of Ukraine.