Putin provokes the West with 'high-tech' arms duel
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, today called for a "duel" between Russia's new hypersonic weapons and Western missile defense systems with the United States in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
Provocatively, the Kremlin leader issued a challenge:
"Let them choose any facility that we could attack, say in Kiev. Let them concentrate all their anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems there. And we will attack with an Oreshnik missile. And we will see what happens. We're ready for such an experiment. Is the other side ready?" he said at his annual press conference.
Putin called the technological experiment a "high-tech duel of the 21st century" between Russia and the West. He recalled that the maximum range of the Oreshnik, first launched on November 21 against a military plant in Ukraine, is 5,500 kilometers.
"In a matter of seconds, the warheads start to separate. And that's it, they've missed their shot. So they have no chance of shooting down these missiles," he said. He stressed that the American missile shield, which Russia has advised against implementing, is "expensive and does little to ensure the security of their country".
(MH with FM/Source: Agency/Photo: DPA/Russian Look/Kremlin Pool)