Russian President Vladimir Putin. photo: Pavel Bednyakov / Sputnik
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of the possibility of striking “decision-making centres” in the Ukrainian capital with Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missiles. He voiced this threat during a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Security Council in Kazakhstan on 28 November, Russian media reported.
“The Ministry of Defence and the General Staff are selecting targets to be hit on the territory of Ukraine. These could be military facilities, defence industry enterprises or decision-making centres in Kyiv,” Putin said. He added that such actions are allegedly a response to Ukraine’s attempts to attack targets in Moscow and St Petersburg.
According to Putin, the Oreshnik system has already entered mass production, and its use could have large-scale consequences. “A massive strike with Oreshnik missiles is comparable in power to the use of nuclear weapons,” he stressed.
Putin also stated that Russia has several ready-to-use missile systems of this type, and described their effect as capable of “turning everything in the epicentre of the explosion into dust”.
This statement was another escalation in the Kremlin’s rhetoric that could increase tensions in the war waged by Russia against Ukraine. At the same time, international experts emphasise that such threats are aimed at intimidating and putting pressure on Kyiv and its international partners.
