Officials have shared their concerns over the possible use of Vladimir Putin’s new Oreshnik weapon. It comes following reports that airspace around a missle testing site has been shut off
Russia has reportedly closed the airspace which surrounds its missile testing site – sparking new fears over hypersonic weapon launches.
Ukraine has been issued a warning following news about the airspace closure around the Kapustin Yar site. According to the alert, the space will be shut for a long period of time today.
The announcement has sent shockwaves across the globe as officials question whether Vladimir Putin’s Oreshnik super-weapon could be used.
It comes after the Kremlin launched his new hypersonic rocket with multiple warheads in a horrific attack on Dnipro, from the exact same site. It was not initially clear if any airspace closure was linked to a new strike or further non-combat testing of Oreshnik or other Russian missiles.
Ukrainians were warned: “Today, from 6:00 to 22:00, the airspace will be completely closed in the area of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) test site, Kapustin Yar, as part of testing. This could indicate the possible combat use of a medium-range ballistic missile. Do not ignore any alerts.”
This came hours after the Kremlin dictator told defence chiefs and military scientists that his new hypersonic super-weapon is as deadly as a strategic nuclear missile – and Europe including Britain is totally unable to stop it.
Reports say Britain could be hit in between 16 and 20 minutes after a launch from Kapustin Yar in Russia. The Kremlin dictator appeared jubilant as he made clear the Oreshnik is going into mass production, openly threatening new strikes.
He stressed other medium and short range weapons of destruction are currently being tested. While Oreshnik – as used to devastate Ukrainian city Dnipro this week – is not a nuclear weapon, Putin boasted in a meeting with defence and missile chiefs that its capacity to lay waste is just as great.
The dictator – after two weeks out of the limelight, reportedly for medical examinations – summoned his defence and missile-making chiefs to hail the development of the new weapon, strongly denying Ukrainian and Western claims that it was a hastily revamped Soviet-era missile capable of carrying multiple warheads.
He threatened that the weapon could be used against “those who are trying to blackmail us by force, about Russia’s newest medium-range missile system”. This appears specifically a warning to Britain which is seen as having allowed its Storm Shadow missiles to attack Russian territory in Kursk region for the first time this week, hitting a war command post, wounding a North Korean general.
Making clear he would go on using the Oreshnik, Putin said: “We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats posed to Russia. All the more so because we have a stockpile of such products, a stockpile of such systems ready for their use.”
He added: “As we know, as you know, no one in the world has such weapons yet. Yes, sooner or later it will appear in other leading countries, we know what kind of developments are under way there. But it will be tomorrow, or in a year or two, we have this system today. And this is important.”
He declared: “The Oreshnik missile system is not just an effective hypersonic weapon. By virtue of its striking power, especially when used en masse and in combination with other long-range precision systems that Russia also has.
“The results of its use against enemy targets will be comparable in effect and power to strategic [nuclear] weapons. I will add that there are no means of countering such a missile. The means of intercepting it in the world today, do not exist.
“In addition to the Oreshnik system, several systems of this kind are currently being worked on in Russia for further testing. We are developing a whole line of medium- and shorter-range systems.” Putin said: “I would like to say that the creators of the Oreshnik missile system, those who designed and organised the production of the latest complex, will certainly be nominated for state awards.”
The dictator appears to believe his missile supremacy over the West has NATO on the back foot. NATO and Ukraine are to hold emergency talks after Russia’s hypersonic missile attack. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, warning it was now “taking on very dramatic proportions.”
