The Russian military has launched a state-of-the-art intermediate-range ballistic missile against a Ukrainian target, President Vladimir Putin said in a public address on Thursday. The strike was launched in response to Kiev’s use of Western-made long-range missiles, the president has said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed the details of today’s attack in the city of (Dnipro) Dnepropetrovsk. LINK He confirmed that the Russian military used its medium-range ballistic missile. It turned out to be the latest Oreshnik nuclear capable missile system.
On November 21, the Russian Armed Forces struck the Yuzhmash plant with Oreshnik (hazel) ballistic missile in its nuclear-free hypersonic mode. The target was successfully struck. Russian attack was a response to U.S. plans to produce intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles at the targeted industrial facility in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin clarified that Russia has successfully tested a new medium–range missile Oreshnik in combat conditions. No missile defense systems, including US systems deployed in Europe, are able to intercept such Russian missiles as the Oreshnik, which attack targets at a speed of 2-3 km per second. Russia promised to warn civilians in advance in the event of the use of such systems.
The development of the Oreshnik missile was conducted in the strictest confidence. There are almost no information about this system in open sources. It is clear that it is capable of carrying both a high-explosive cluster charge and a nuclear one. It reportedly has a range of about 6,000 km and has 6 or 8 combat units with separable warheads, each of them is capable of carrying a charge of hundreds of kilotons. This is more than a hundred times more than the total charge dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The MSM are already reporting that the Russian military allegedly has only several such experimental missiles. This is the usual tactics of Ukrainian propaganda stolen by the Western MSM.
‘On November 19, the enemy struck with 6 ATACMS tactical missiles , as well as a combined strike on November 20 with Storm Shadow and HIMARS missiles at facilities in the Kursk and Bryansk regions. The targets of the strike were not achieved, but there are dead and wounded. The use of such weapons by the enemy cannot change the course of the conflict.’
Vladimir Putin claimed that after the latest attacks by Kiev, after Western long-range weapons targeted Russian territory the conflict took on a global character. Russia considers itself entitled to use its weapons against those countries that allow their weapons to be used to attack Russian territory.
‘Russia will respond decisively and in a mirror manner to the escalation. Russia prefers peaceful means, but is also ready for any development of events,’ the president added.
Vladimir Putin concluded that the deployment of medium and short range missile systems would depend on the actions of the West. If the United States starts deploying them, then Russia will respond.
A new hypersonic missile, conflict escalation and a warning for NATO: What you need to know from Putin’s latest address
The use of Western-made long-range missile systems in the Ukraine conflict has drastically changed its nature, the Russian leader has warned
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address from the Kremlin on Thursday evening, outlining Moscow’s response to recent escalations of the Ukraine conflict.
He revealed that Russia had deployed a new hypersonic missile system in a strike on Ukrainian territory, criticized the United States for escalating tensions, and reiterated Moscow’s willingness to engage in peace talks while blaming Washington for the conflict becoming global in nature.
Putin’s address comes after recent Ukrainian strikes inside Russia’s pre-2014 borders using Western-made long-range missiles, which mark a significant escalation of the conflict. His comments reflect growing tensions between Russia and the NATO countries, and signal the dangers of a potential shift toward a broader confrontation.