Russian President Vladimir Putin urged on Thursday a missile ‘duel’ with the United States to demonstrate how Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile could overcome any U.S missile defense system.
To counter Western skepticism about the Oreshnik, Putin proposed that both parties choose a specific target to be covered by U.S missiles.
“We’re ready for such an experiment,” Putin said.
Putin also said that Oreshnik was a modern weapon, though it is based on previous Russian design developments.
Russia first fired the Oreshnik missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Nov. 21, in what Putin cast as a response to Ukraine’s first use of U.S.
ATACMs ballistic missiles and British Storm Shadows to strike Russian territory with Western permission.
