by Oliver JJ Lane, Breitbart:
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims the ballistic missile strike on Ukraine on Thursday was the debut of a new ‘unstoppable’ weapon as he blamed the West for turning his invasion of Ukraine into a global war.
Ukraine reported what it claimed as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) strike on the central city of Dnipro on Thursday morning, prompting a flurry of global concern at what could be the first use of a true ICBM in anger in history. Yet Western governments and intelligence agencies were apparently reluctant to openly acknowledge the claim, Russia itself refused comment, and eventually even Ukraine itself cast doubts on its own assertions.
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Now Russia’s President Putin has given his own version of events, saying the strike was not by ICBM — weapons which travel into space before plunging back to earth, with ranges of thousands of miles — but rather by a never-before-seen nuclear-capable Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM). Putin identified as the ‘Oreshnik’ (‘Hazel’) type which he claimed is totally impervious to Western countermeasures in a televised speech on Thursday night.
Separately, Putin ally and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now a Kremlin attack dog frequently employed in making lurid nuclear threats, called the new missile “hypersonic” and published what purported to be footage of the strike.
Such claims are difficult to take at face value, given the importance of propaganda in wartime and the fact President Putin’s television conferences are as much for domestic consumption and Russian morale as they are to inform foreign observers. Russia has also made bold claims about its new missile systems in the past, not least about its “hypersonics”.
The Kinzhal missile was said to be so fast and maneuverable it was impossible to shoot down, however the makers of the United States Patriot missile shield system probably enjoyed a healthy bump in their order books from having shot down a number of them in the skies over Ukraine last year.
Nevertheless, Putin was so bullish about the invulnerability of Oreshnik missiles, he offered a somewhat cynical reassurance to civilians he said he would even give public advance warnings of future launches. The Russian President said in his televised address on Thursday night, per Kremlin media: “We will do it due to humanitarian concerns – openly, publicly, without any concerns about any countermeasures from the enemy, who will also receive this information… Why without any concerns? Because there are currently no countermeasures for this weapon at this moment.
Russia has no obligation to notify third parties about IRBM launches in advance, as it does with ICBMs, per a year 2000 memorandum signed with the United States to reduce the likelihood of tests and military exercises being misinterpreted as sneak attacks.
