Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia would begin mass production of a new and more powerful Oleshnik missile in the “near future.”
In a speech to the last board meeting of the Russian Ministry of Defense of the year, broadcast publicly on Monday, President Putin said: “Serial production of such systems should be ensured in the near future to protect the security of Russia and its allies. ” he said.
In response to Kiev’s use of long-range missiles provided by France, the United States and Britain to attack targets inside Russia, Russia late last month used Oreshnik missiles for the first time to attack the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Used.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last week asked Putin for the new missile and said Russia had agreed to provide the Oreshnik “free of charge.”
Russian leaders have previously said the new missile will fly at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by air defense systems.
He also said that Oleshnik was reducing the need for nuclear weapons to downplay the possibility of nuclear escalation in the war against Ukraine.
However, at the same Defense Council meeting on Monday, Putin also said that Russia must “maintain the development of strategic nuclear forces” and “keep non-strategic nuclear forces in combat readiness.”
