Ukraine dissects Russia's unstoppable missile

(Dan Tri) - Ukraine announced that it is examining debris from Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which Moscow claims cannot be intercepted.

Debris of a Russian missile that Ukraine is dissecting (Photo: Reuters).

Ukrainian investigators are dissecting the wreckage of a new Russian medium-range ballistic missile fired at the city of Dnipro last week, the first time Russia has used such a weapon in its more than 1,000-day war with Ukraine.

The charred fragments were placed on shelves at a weapons inspection facility in Ukraine, Reuters reported. Ukrainian experts study such fragments to gain insight into the military supply chain, how Russia manufactures its weapons and how to develop countermeasures against the Oreshnik.

Russia claims its Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead, cannot be intercepted by air defense systems. Ukraine says the weapon reached a top speed of more than 13,000km/h and took just 15 minutes to reach its target.

Two Ukrainian state experts gave cautious assessments, saying only that the weapon was a ballistic missile, flew on a ballistic trajectory, and that the attack caused damage. They declined to elaborate on the missile's details.

“These are preliminary conclusions and to say something more concrete requires time and careful study of the rest of the rocket,” said Ivan, one of the experts.

"This is the first time that the remains of such a missile have been found on Ukrainian territory," said an investigator from the Security Service of Ukraine named Oleh.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the use of the weapon a serious escalation and called on its allies to respond. Ukraine initially said the weapon was an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The Kremlin later said it had fired a new medium-range missile at a Ukrainian military target in Dnipro in response to Kiev's attack deep into Russia using US- and UK-made missiles.

The US military said the missile's design was based on the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It said the new missile was experimental and Russia may have only a small number in stock.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would continue testing the missile in combat and had a stockpile ready for use. Putin also confirmed that Russia would mass produce the missile.

Ukraine has not yet disclosed the extent of the damage caused by the attack. Kiev rarely discloses damage to military targets for fear that such information would benefit Moscow.

Following the incident, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the defense minister to hold meetings with Kiev's allies to acquire air defense systems "capable of protecting people's lives from new risks."

Earlier, Interfax-Ukraine quoted a source from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as saying that Ukraine was cooperating with US partners to obtain the THAAD ballistic missile defense system or upgraded Patriot system after Russia's attack with a new type of missile.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ukraine-mo-xe-ten-lua-khong-the-bi-danh-chan-cua-nga-20241124213551785.htm