CNN —It began with a peace move nobody wanted and ended with an experimental missile strike so rare in war Moscow gave a 30-minute heads-up to Washington. The White House publicly authorized Ukraine Sunday to fire missiles it supplied into Russia proper, which it swiftly did Monday. Moscow responded by using an experimental medium-range missile, with hypersonic speeds and a multiple warhead system usually reserved for nuclear payloads, to strike Dnipro Thursday. Similarly, Putin’s decision to launch the Oreshnik missile was likely Moscow stepping up another rung on a carefully prepared ladder of escalation. Yuri Budanov, head of Ukraine’s defense intelligence, said Friday it was a “medium-range ballistic missile, a nuclear weapons carrier.

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Persons: Donald Trump’s, Putin, Olaf Scholz, Vladimir Putin, Scholz, Trump, Joe Biden’s, ’, Russia’s, ”, Yuri Budanov, ” Budanov, Biden Organizations: CNN, White House, Ukraine Sunday, Dnipro Thursday, Kremlin, Russia’s, Foundation, NATO, Intermediate Nuclear Forces, US, United Kingdom’s Defence Intelligence Locations: Moscow, Washington, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Europe, Poland, France, Dnipro, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kupiansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kursk