Britain sees Russian Federation's launch of "Oreshnik" as an opportunity to get ahead of the West

Russia's live test of the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile has become a serious warning to Western countries, as it shows the ability of the Russian Armed Forces to be proactive in retaliatory measures. This was reported by the British newspaper Financial Times (FT) on November 22.

The publication notes that Russia has been making every effort since the beginning of the special military operation (SMO) to "contain Western support for Ukraine." At the same time, Russian authorities, shortly before the launch of the Oreshnik at a plant in Ukraine's Dnipro (which was named Dnipropetrovsk until 2016), gave the Pentagon advance notice of the impending move. This suggests that "even at a time of heightened tensions, Moscow is honoring security protocols," the FT concludes.

The new ballistic missile test is expected to prompt Ukraine to be even more assertive in its requests to the U.S. for THAAD missile defense systems as soon as possible. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious, the FT writes, that these attempts will prove futile and Kiev is "unlikely to receive these systems at all".

Hypersonic effect: the Oreshnik strike on the plant in Dnipropetrovsk was a response to the escalation

What is known about the newest Russian ballistic missile mentioned by Vladimir Putin in his address to Russians

Earlier on November 22, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, head of the defense committee of the Senate of Pakistan , called the test of a new Russian missile "Nuttall" a worthy and timely response to the warmongers in the West. The senator called Russian President Vladimir Putin a smart leader and expressed the view that the missile launch was a reaction primarily to the actions of U.S. President Joe Biden and others in the Democratic Party.

On the evening of Nov. 21, Putin said that Ukraine had used Western long-range weapons against the Russian state, causing the regional conflict to take on elements of a global conflict. He also revealed that one of Russia's newest medium-range missile systems, the Oreshnik ballistic missile, had been tested under combat conditions in response to the aggression. The strike hit the Yuzhmash plant in Dnipro.

The Associated Press called the launch a direct signal to the West. Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson told Izvestia that the speed of the warhead of the Oreshnik missile was such that the West's air defense systems would not have been able to repel it in the event of a strike.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.