Vladimir Putin’s new “wonder weapon” caused little damage when he unleashed it on Ukraine, satellite images show, despite Russian claims that a defense plant in Dnipro was “ruined to dust”.
Furious pro-war Russian military experts wonder if they have been fooled by Putin’s boastful claims about the “unstoppable” Oreshnik.
Dramatic footage showed the weapon releasing six separate warheads during an attack on the Yuzhmash plant, also known as Pivdenmash.
Putin says the missile is “unstoppable” to Western and Ukrainian air defenses, and has promised to increase production of the weapon after Thursday’s launch.
The despot added that the new weapon traveled at 10 times the speed of sound, leaving Ukrainian air defenses unable to shoot it down.
Russian sources said the range was 3,100 miles, and defense officials noted this would allow it to strike anywhere in Europe and the US west coast.
Russian accounts suggested that the Dnipro defense plant had been “completely destroyed” and that a “black hole” had formed at the site of the attack.
But the Kyiv Post reported: “The images do not support Russian claims that the plant was ‘blurred to dust.'”
EARLIER: The site of the facility in Dnipro that Putin’s forces attacked with their new Oreshnik missile
AFTER: Satellite images appear to show limited damage to facilities following Thursday’s strike
Footage shows Putin’s new Oreshnik hypersonic superweapon attacking a defense plant in Dnipro, Ukraine, on November 21, 2024.
Security camera footage from the central-eastern city of Dnipro showed several projectiles entering and detonating in a series of violent, fiery explosions.
Russian war blogger Romanov Light complained: ‘Satellite images of Yuzhmash have emerged following an attack by Oreshnik.
‘The workshops remain intact. Nothing has been “reduced to dust.”
“However, it appears that the private residential area above sustained some damage.”
Putin said: “Modern air defense systems cannot intercept such missiles.” That’s impossible… Today, there are no means to counter such a weapon.’
It was reported that the hypersonic missile was able to reach Britain 20 minutes after its launch.
Putin said the Mach 10 non-nuclear hypersonic attack on Dnipro was a test and that the launch was a “success.”
The Oreshnik was launched in response to Ukraine’s use of US and British missiles to attack Russian territory, he said, referring to ATACMS and Storm Shadow.
Putin alleged that American and British militaries were behind the precision and damaging attacks.
“Experts know very well, and the Russian side has repeatedly stressed it, that it is impossible to use this type of weapons without the direct participation of military specialists from the countries that produce them,” Putin said.
Parts of a ballistic missile, which Russia used in an attack on the city of Dnipro last week, are displayed, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
In revenge ‘on the territory of Ukraine, in the city of (Dnipro), one of the largest and best-known industrial complexes of Soviet times was attacked, which still produces missile equipment and other weapons today….
“I repeat, we are conducting live tests of the Oreshnik missile system in response to the aggressive actions of NATO countries against it.”
Some Russian sources claim that the objective was to demonstrate the power of the weapon and show its precision and speed.
Others said the Oreshnik should cause damage underground that may not be visible on the surface.
Russian forces carried out their largest drone strike against Ukraine overnight, cutting off power to much of the western Ternopil region and damaging residential buildings in the kyiv region, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.
The intensification of nighttime drone strikes on Ukrainian cities coincides with a major advance by Russia along the front lines in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have made some of the biggest monthly territorial gains since 2022.
Of the 188 drones used overnight, Ukraine shot down 76 and lost track of 96, likely due to active electronic warfare, the air force said. Five drones headed towards Belarus.
“The enemy launched a record number of Shahed attack unmanned aerial vehicles and unidentified drones…” it said. Russia uses cheaply produced “suicide” drones and low-cost “decoy” drones, which jam Ukrainian air defenses.
“Unfortunately, there were hits to critical infrastructure facilities and private and apartment buildings were damaged in several regions due to the massive drone strike,” an air force statement said, adding that no casualties had been reported.
This is the moment missiles believed to be British Storm Shadow missiles hit inside Russia
As the air war in the conflict intensifies, a senior NATO official warned yesterday that Russia’s ground forces are expanding.
NATO Military Committee Chairman Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer said Moscow’s ground forces are larger now than when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched in February 2022.
But “the quality of those forces has declined,” he said, referring to the state of the force’s equipment and the level of training of its soldiers.
“At the moment, the Russians do not pose the same threat as in February 2022, so we have a little time to prepare,” he said, adding that this means increasing investments in the defense industry.
NATO is expected to hold emergency talks with kyiv today to discuss the escalation of the conflict, in which some 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to support Russian forces.
The soldiers sent by Pyongyang are believed to be in Russia’s Kursk region, which is partially occupied by Ukraine, and will be ready to engage in combat inside Ukraine “soon,” according to Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense.
Meanwhile, Britain has urged kyiv’s allies to continue supporting its fight against Russia, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy today called on G7 countries to support Ukraine and equip it for as long as it needs. .