In a high-stakes move yesterday Vladimir Putin announced successful combat testing of Russias new Oreshnik missile system in Ukraine; the weapon reached speeds over 13000 kph during its 15-min flight
The super-fast missile (which name means hazel tree) can carry multiple war-heads hitting different targets at once — this makes it extra-dangerous for defense systems. “We have enough of these systems ready and will keep testing them in real conditions“ Putin stated while speaking to military-tech experts
There is no countermeasure to such a missile‚ no means of intercepting it in the world today
A US source however down-played this tech breakthrough saying its just an experimental weapon that Russia cant use often. The missile can fly 3000-5500 km which means it could reach any spot in Europe from Russian territory
Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded to this threat by asking Western allies for help: his defense minister is already talking about new air-defense needs. The test comes right after both sides stepped-up attacks on each others territory using better weapons
Last month Putin showed off Russias nuclear forces in exercises; this week he made it easier to use nukes if Russia gets hit by normal weapons. Moscow says its warning the West not to help Ukraine too much with their missiles