Russian president Vladimir Putin challenges West to test Oreshnik missile in "technological duel"

Dec 20, 2024

Moscow (Russia) December 20 (ANI): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday challenged Western claims about the Oreshnik missile's vulnerability, suggesting a direct test to assess its effectiveness against advanced air and missile defence systems in Ukrainian capital Kyiv.During the programme "Year in Review with Vladimir Putin," hosted by Channel One, a Russian state-controlled television channel, the Russia President proposed a "technological duel" to demonstrate the missile's capabilities. When questioned about the West referring to the "Oreshnik" as a modified version of an old Soviet weapon and claiming that the missile could be intercepted by air defence systems even during its launch phase, Putin responded, "This is a modern, very new weapon. Everything that is done in any sphere of activity is based on some previous developments, on previous achievements, and then people take a step forward. The same thing with Oreshnik... This is a new weapon. I repeat: this is a medium- and shorter-range weapon."