Putin falsely claims Russian intermediate-range ballistic missiles are unstoppable, says expert.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has falsely claimed that Russian intermediate-range ballistic missiles are impossible to intercept. According to Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the Oslo Nuclear Project, a number of air defense systems are capable of destroying such missiles, CNN has reported.
On 21 November, Russia struck Dnipro with a Multiple Independently-Targetable Reentry Vehicle missile with conventional warheads. Ukraine identified the weapon as an intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from a Kedr missile system. Russia has never used such a weapon against Ukraine before. An investigation of the attack and assessment of the damage is ongoing.
Fabian Hoffmann said that several US and Israeli-made missile defense systems can intercept multiple warheads of intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
“Systems like SM-3 and SM-6 from Aegis or Aegis Ashore, as well as most likely Israeli Arrow 3 and THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), can absolutely deal with this type of threat,” revealed Global Defense Corp.
Currently, Ukraine doesn’t possess the systems capable of destroying Russian intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
He noted that the economic factor poses a bigger challenge than the interception itself, as destroying all the warheads of intermediate-range ballistic missiles would require a large number of interceptors.
Media reports say Kyiv has already begun negotiations with Washington about acquiring an air defense system capable of countering such attacks. The military is considering two primary options: either upgrading the existing Patriot air defense system or acquiring a THAAD system.
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Ukraine’s military for the first time confirmed the use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles inside Russian territory;
Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was not at war with Russia or any other country, following suggestions by Moscow’s ambassador to Sky News last night that London was now “directly involved” in the conflict in Ukraine;
A 1,000-page document which details how Germany would respond to a war breaking out with Russia was leaked by local media;
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