Putin called the creation of Oreshnik a historic event in the missile field
The creation of Russia's Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile was a historic event for the rocket and space field, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 22.
"Oreshnik is not the event of the year, it is a historic event in the rocket and space field. Nothing like this has ever happened before. This is the first time it happened with this kind of weapon," the head of state said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin, who published an excerpt in his Telegram channel.
Responding to a related question, Putin clarified that he was quite deeply immersed in the development of these missile systems.
"There were different points of view on this matter in the Defense Ministry. In the end I joined those who believed that it a) should be produced - and gave a direct order to do so, to allocate the necessary resources - and b) agreed with those who believed that it was time to test it in combat conditions. So, of course, this is part of my work," the President added.
Earlier, on December 19, during the "Results of the Year" Putin said that the enemy has no chance to shoot down the Oreshnik missiles. In response to such assertions by some Western experts, he proposed a technological experiment - a "high-tech duel of the XXI century," in which air defense and missile defense forces would concentrate on one site, and the Russian military would strike there with the "Oreshnik."
Putin announced the combat test of the Oreshnik ballistic missile, one of Russia's newest medium-range missile systems, on Nov. 21. The step was taken in response to the escalation by Western countries in Ukraine. The head of state then clarified that Russia would continue testing and that a decision on the serial production of the missiles had already been made.
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