Putin said Russia is ready for a "technological duel" with the use of "Nutshell"

Russia right now is ready for a "technological duel" using the Russian medium-range ballistic missile Oreshnik. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 19.

"We are ready right now, right today," the Russian leader said, answering a relevant question from journalist Pavel Zarubin. The video of the interview was published in the journalist's Telegram channel.

The head of state also clarified that it is possible to hold a duel with Western air defenses not necessarily in Kiev. As Putin noted, "it's just that Kiev <...> already has a fairly serious air defense system organized by Western countries."

The Dueling Complex: Will Western air defense systems be able to stand up to the "Nutshell"

What missile defense assets could theoretically be deployed to defend against a Russian medium-range missile

Earlier in the day, Putin said during the "Results of the Year" that the enemy has no chance to shoot down the "Oreshnik" missiles. Thus, the head of state commented on the opinion of some foreign experts that Western air defenses allegedly can do it at the stage of launch.

Thus, the Russian leader suggested to these experts to organize a technological experiment - a kind of "high-tech duel of the XXI century" - in the course of which a target site will be identified, where air defense and missile defense forces will concentrate their work, and the Russian military will strike there with the "Oreshnik", after which the result will be found out.