According to a report by Reuters, US intelligence estimates that Russia could again use its experimental hypersonic ballistic missile Oreshnik against Ukraine “in the coming days.”
“We judge Oreshnik not to be a breakthrough on the battlefield, but rather another attempt by Russia to terrorize Ukraine that is likely to fail,” the U.S. official said.
The official said Russia has a small number of these missiles and that they carry smaller warheads than other missiles Russia regularly fires into Ukraine. .
– The combat testing of missile systems (…) in Ukraine itself serves as a strong warning to certain persons abroad, who, judging by their actions, clearly seem to have lost touch with reality – Here are comments from Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Wednesday's use of oreshniki.
Rumors about the use of Oleshniki aim to cause panic in Ukraine
On November 21, President Vladimir Putin announced in an address to the nation that Russia had used a new weapon of destruction on the battlefield during the attack on the Dnieper, the Oleshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. The missile was scheduled to be launched from the Kapustin Yar cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk Oblast. Significantly, President Putin announced in his speech that in the future Russia would notify Ukrainian civilians in advance of planned attacks. In this way, Moscow had the means to spread panic in Ukraine.
Surveillance camera footage from the scene of the Oresnik attack shows a huge fireball lighting up the sky and crashing to the ground at great speed. The attack occurred two days after President Vladimir Putin signed a revised version of Russia's nuclear principles that lowers standards for the use of nuclear weapons. Shortly before that, US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use US missiles to attack Russian territory.
Oresnik is based on the RS-28 Sarmat missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead. The missile has a mass of 200 tons and a warhead of 1.2 tons and can hit targets with an accuracy of 150 meters. The MIRV head accommodates approximately six maneuvering vehicles. They can carry out kinetic attacks (explosive force of 5 tons of TNT) against multiple targets simultaneously at hypersonic speeds (over 12,000 km/h). In the case of the November 21 attack, Russia may have used a concrete warhead.
To prevent the Oleshnikov missiles, Ukraine could use the THAAD system that the United States has already sent to Israel to protect against Iran. For now, Ukraine can only use the U.S. Patriot air defense system.
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