Zelenskyy blasts "dumbass" Putin's idea of "duel" over Kyiv between Oreshnik and Western air defence
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has slammed Russian leader Vladimir Putin's proposal of a "duel" over Kyiv between Russia's new medium-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, and Western-supplied air defence systems.
Source: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter)
Details: In a video released today, Putin proposed a "high-tech duel": "Let them select a target, let’s say in Kyiv, and focus all of their air defence forces there, and we will carry out an Oreshnik strike. And let’s see what happens."
"People are dying, and he thinks it’s 'interesting'... Dumbass," Zelenskyy tweeted.
Andrii Yermak, head of the President’s Office, later called Putin a "mad old cretin".
In February 2024, US President Joe Biden called Putin a "crazy son of a bitch" during a fundraising event in San Francisco.
Background:
- Ukraine’s Air Force noted that Russia used an intercontinental ballistic missile during a missile attack on the city of Dnipro on 21 November. Ukrainska Pravda sources reported that it might have been a Rubezh missile, a potential carrier of nuclear warheads.
- In an address on 21 November, Putin indirectly confirmed reports that Russia used a medium-range missile – dubbed Oreshnik by Putin – during the 21 November attack on Dnipro.
- The United States officially confirmed that Russia struck Dnipro with a ballistic missile based on the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.
- On 22 November, Defence Intelligence of Ukraine stated that Russia launched a ballistic missile, likely from the Kedr missile system, against Ukraine.
- Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, stated that Oreshnik is the name of the research project; "it's just a cypher". He added that as of October 2024, Russia was supposed to have manufactured two experimental samples of the Kedr missile system, one of which struck Dnipro on 21 November.
- On 28 November, Putin announced the purported commencement of mass production of the Oreshnik missile system, claiming it could be used against "decision-making centres in Kyiv".
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