Russia's 'Oreshnik' missile test claims spark global tension
Russian leader Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with the defence ministry's leadership, the defence industry, and the chiefs of the missile forces, announced the success of the "Oreshnik" missile test, which was launched yesterday at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Many of the reports provided by Russian state media or Kremlin officials are likely not accurate. Such reports may be elements of an information war by the Russian Federation.
During the meeting with the defence ministry leadership, the Russian leader asserted that the "Oreshnik" is supposedly a new missile, created "recently," and not a modernised version of another missile.
According to Putin, there is "a stockpile of such systems ready for use." At the meeting, the leader announced the complete success of the missile test, which was launched on Thursday at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
The leader claims that "no one in the world has such weapons" like "Oreshnik," which no air defence system can intercept. Putin announced that the "Oreshnik" has been officially put into military service, and the arms industry has commenced its mass production. The missiles are to be delivered to the Strategic Missile Forces.
Present at the meeting, the chief commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Sergey Karakayev, claimed that "Oreshnik" allegedly can target destinations across Europe.
The Russian propagandistic channel Readovka published a graphic on Telegram demonstrating the missile's capabilities.
Russians threaten that an "Oreshnik" launched from the Kaliningrad region would reach Warsaw in approximately 1 minute and 21 seconds. Berlin in 2 minutes and 35 seconds, Paris in 7 minutes, and London in 7 minutes.
The USA knew about Russia's strike
Russia notified the USA shortly before launching the new "experimental" intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) at Dnipro - stated Pentagon Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh on Thursday. She also emphasised that Putin's threats against the USA and other countries would not deter America from continuing to assist Ukraine.
- I can confirm that Russia did launch an experimental intermediate range ballistic missile. This IRBM was based on Russia's RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile model - stated Singh during Thursday's press briefing.
She added that the USA was notified by Russia through nuclear risk reduction channels shortly before the missile launch, although she declined to specify the time it occurred. At the same time, she confirmed that Washington informed Ukraine and allies about the anticipated attack using an experimental IRBM missile. Sabrina Singh explained that the missile was "experimental" because this was its first use in combat.
