President Vladimir Putin He said on Friday that Russia would continue testing the Oreshnik hypersonic missile and had a stockpile ready for use..
Putin spoke a day after Russia fired the new intermediate-range weapon against Ukraine for the first timea step he said was prompted by Ukraine’s use of American ballistic missiles and British cruise missiles to attack Russia.
The Kremlin leader He described the first use of the missile as a successful test, and said more would follow.
“We will continue with these tests, even in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats created for Russia” he said in comments to defense officials and missile developers broadcast on television.
“In addition, we have a stock of these products, a stock of these systems ready for use“he added.
The intermediate missiles have a range of 3,000-5,500 kilometers, which would allow them to attack any point in Europe or the western United States from Russia.
Security experts pointed out that the novelty of the Oreshnik missile was that it carried several nuclear warheads capable of simultaneously hitting different targets.something that is usually associated with longer-range intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads.
The Oreshnik was fired with conventional warheads, not nuclear ones.
According to Ukraine, The missile reached a maximum speed of more than 13,000 kilometers per hour and took about 15 minutes to reach its target from launch.
The missile shot It is part of a sharp increase in tension this week, in which both Ukraine and Russia have attacked each other with increasingly powerful weapons..
Moscow claims that by giving Ukraine the green light to fire Western missiles into Russia, the United States and its allies are entering into direct conflict with Russia. On Tuesday, Putin had approved changes that lower the threshold for Russia to use nuclear weapons in response to an attack with conventional weapons.
Putin said that the Oreshnik (hazel) It is not a strategic nuclear weapon, but its impact power and precision made its result comparable.“especially when used in a massive group and in combination with other high-precision long-range systems.”
Putin claimed that the missile was incapable of being intercepted by the enemy.
“I will add that today there is no countermeasure for such a missile in the world, no means of intercepting it.. And I will emphasize once again that we will continue testing this brand new system. “It is necessary to establish serial production,” he said.
