Russian missile targeting Kyiv fails, explodes on home soil
The weekly magazine Forbes reports that on Thursday morning, the Russians launched another Oreshnik missile. The missile was intended to strike Kyiv but failed to reach its target. It is believed to have exploded in Russia. However, this information has yet to be confirmed.
"Forbes," citing reports from Ukrainian war correspondent Kyrylo Sazonov, notes that on Thursday morning, the Russians launched an "Oreshnik" missile towards Ukraine for the second time. Air raid alarms sounded, prompting people to seek shelter. The "Oreshnik" was targeted at Kyiv this time.
Around 10 AM Greenwich Mean Time, the alarm was cancelled. No strike occurred.
According to Ukrainian war correspondent Kyrylo Sazonov, the Oreshnik "did not fly far." It reportedly malfunctioned and exploded on Russian territory.
Putin had earlier threatened to attack Kyiv
"Forbes" highlights that although this information has not been confirmed, it is highly probable. A week after the initial "Oreshnik" attack, Putin threatened another assault, clearly stating that this time he would target "decision-making centres" in Kyiv.
"But the threat was only as real as the Oreshnik is reliable," reports "Forbes".
Complicated and inaccurate, the Oreshnik is an expensive means to cause not so much destruction, said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Nonproliferation Program in East Asia at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, speaking to the Reuters agency. In this sense, it is a terrorist weapon - a device designed to scare a far greater number of people than it harms or kills.
"There is no information that the missile crashed in Russia"
The Ukrainian service 24tv.ua recalls that on the morning of 6th February, an alarm was indeed raised across Ukraine due to the threat of a ballistic missile launch from the Kapustnyj Yar testing ground. However, the attack did not occur.
Monitor Channel, which tracks the movement of Russian planes, drones, and missiles, has not confirmed the launch of the "Oreshnik". It also stated that there is no information about the missile having crashed in Russia.
