Zakharova commented on the West's reaction to Putin's words about the duel with "Oreshnik"

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the reaction of Western countries to Russian President Vladimir Putin 's proposal to hold a "technological duel" between Russia's medium-range Oreshnik ballistic missile and NATO missile defense facilities, urged Western leaders to think about it and not be dumbfounded by the statement.

"I'm reading the reactions to the Russian president's press conference. The Western public is dumbfounded by the statement about a hypothetical technological duel using Russia's Oreshnik and NATO missile defense systems on the example of some facility in Kiev," she wrote in her Telegram channel on December 20.

According to Zakharova, the West talks a lot about strikes deep into Russia, while these statements "do not make anyone faint," and the law, international law, humanity and human rights are also "not recalled by anyone."

The diplomat noted that the rhetoric about "inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia" has become entrenched in NATO's mentality. According to her, this is not a hypothetical assumption for them, as billions are allocated for the implementation of this doctrine.

"Let them think about what it is like to live in circumstances that are proposed for others," Zakharova added.

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, University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer expressed the opinion that Putin, during the "Results of the Year", made it clear to the West that he is the master of the situation in the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, the Russian side showed its readiness to duel with the Oreshnik missile and Western air defense systems.

On December 19, Putin said during the "Results of the Year" that the enemy has no chance to shoot down the Russian missile "Oreshnik". Thus, the head of state commented on the opinion of some foreign experts that Western air defenses can allegedly do it at the launch stage.

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 an object to be hit 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.

Putin said later that day that it was not necessarily in Kiev that a duel with Western air defenses could be conducted.