Western missile defense systems can detect the launch of a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile, but will not necessarily stop it. This was reported to the newspaper Le Monde by a high-ranking officer of the French Aerospace Forces.
“Ukraine’s allies, with the help of warning systems, can detect a threat of this type, but it is not a fact that they will be able to neutralize it. There is only about 30 minutes left to plan a response,” he said. After launching a missile, it is impossible to know whether it is equipped with a nuclear warhead, the publication’s interlocutor added. In his assessment, Russia’s use of the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile should be taken in the context of possible negotiations on Ukraine with the new US administration led by President Donald Trump.
“The Russians want to be in a position of strength, to show what they are capable of and that they are determined,” the officer believes. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21, the United States and its NATO allies had previously announced that they were giving permission to use long-range precision weapons, after which American and British missiles attacked Russian military facilities in the Bryansk and Kursk regions. According to him, the Russian Federation, in response to these attacks, for the first time used its latest non-nuclear Oreshnik missiles to strike a Ukrainian defense industry facility - the Yuzhmash plant in Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk). The Russian leader emphasized that the provocative policies of the West could entail dire consequences for him in the event of a further escalation of the conflict.
“The Russians want to be in a position of strength, to show what they are capable of and that they are determined,” the officer believes. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21, the United States and its NATO allies had previously announced that they were giving permission to use long-range precision weapons, after which American and British missiles attacked Russian military facilities in the Bryansk and Kursk regions. According to him, the Russian Federation, in response to these attacks, for the first time used its latest non-nuclear Oreshnik missiles to strike a Ukrainian defense industry facility - the Yuzhmash plant in Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk). The Russian leader emphasized that the provocative policies of the West could entail dire consequences for him in the event of a further escalation of the conflict.
