After the Orechnik missile strike on the town of Dnipro this Thursday, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky declared that discussions were being held with the West on “new anti-aircraft defense systems”.
Ukraine is asking its Western allies for the latest generation of air defense systems to protect itself after the strike of a hypersonic ballistic missile, which Vladimir Putin ordered this Friday, November 22, to be mass produced, promising new shots against the enemies from Moscow.
Russia said it had struck the city of Dnipro, in Ukraine, on Thursday with this new intermediate-range Orechnik missile (up to 5,500 km), a heavy missile with a strategic vocation but without its nuclear charge and which was fired from the region of Astrakhan (southwest Russia), a first in this war, cast a chill over Europe.
“A limited number” of the Orechnik missile in stock
“The Ukrainian Defense Minister is already in discussions with our partners for new air defense systems, precisely the kind of systems that can protect lives in the face of new risks,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message to his fellow citizens published Friday evening on social networks.
Ukraine is notably equipped with American Patriot systems, with which it claims to have already intercepted several Kinjal hypersonic missiles touted as “invincible” by the Kremlin and their Franco-Italian equivalent Samp/T, but in too small a number to protect all its cities. But Russia once again claims to have, with the Orechnik missile, a device that is impossible to intercept and capable of reaching all countries in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the “power” of this weapon on Friday during a meeting with military officials broadcast on television, and ordered “serial production to begin.”
“We will continue these tests, especially in combat situations, depending on the situation and the nature of the threats to Russia’s security,” declared the master of the Kremlin.
American President Joe Biden lifted his veto on these shots last weekend, arguing in particular for the mobilization of thousands of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian troops. A senior American official on Friday tempered the threat posed by the new Russian missile.
“It was an experimental weapon of which Russia has a limited number and which it is not able to deploy regularly on the battlefield,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On the ground, the Russian army has been advancing little by little for months at the cost of heavy losses in eastern Ukraine. A highly placed source within the Ukrainian general staff indicated on Friday that Russian troops were advancing “200-300 meters per day” near Kurakhové, one of the localities which could soon fall.
