THE charred wreckage of Putin’s Oreshnik missile have been seen for the first time after the intermediate-range ballistic missile was fired into the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
The scorched and crumbled pieces of debris were laid out in a hanger at a facility which conducts weapons forensics.
It’s the first time such a powerful weapon has been used in the Ukrainian war.
The scorched and crumbled pieces of debris were laid out in a hanger at a facility which conducts weapons forensics.
Ukrainian experts plan to study the debris to gain insight into Russian military supply chains, production and how to develop counter-measures.
Russia has dubbed the missile the Oreshnik (Hazel Tree) and said it is impossible to intercept it with air defences.
Ukraine said the weapon reached a top speed of more than 8,000 mph on its way towards Dnipro on Thursday.
Two Ukraine experts provided cautious assessments, saying only that the weapon was ballistic, flew on a ballistic trajectory and that the strike resulted in civilian damage.
They declined to take questions or give their surnames.
One of the experts, Ivan, said: “These are preliminary conclusions and to say something more concrete requires time and careful study of the remains of the missile.
Oleg, an investigator for the Security Service of Ukraine said: “This is the first time that such remnants of such a missile have been discovered on the territory of Ukraine.”
“This item had not been documented by security investigators before.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the use of the weapon a severe escalation and urged his allies to respond.
Ukraine initially said the weapon appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Kremlin later said it fired a new intermediate-range missile at a Ukrainian military target in Dnipro in response to Kyiv striking Russia with U.S. and British made missiles for the first time after the U.S. granted its approval.
Putin said the missile flies at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by air defences.
The president said it hit a defence industry production facility in Dnipro “which still produces missile equipment and other weapons”.
Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed whether this was the target.
The latest escalation has led to Britain and Nato meeting for emergency crunch talks about the conflict with Russia, after despot Vladimir Putin vowed to fire more hypersonic missiles into Ukraine.
Putin’s troops fired an “Oreshnik” ballistic rocket at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday – with chilling footage capturing warheads raining down from the sky.
Kyiv has said Russia may have 10 of the terrifying weapons in its arsenal.
And tyrant Putin gloated about his “newest” toy after the attack – vowing to mass produce dozens more.
Now military alliance Nato and Ukraine are due to hold emergency talks next Tuesday, Sky reports.
Deranged Vlad said in a meeting with military chiefs: “We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and character of the security threats posted to Russia.”
He added that he has “a stockpile of such systems ready for use”.
The attack, Putin said, was in response to Ukraine firing western long-range missiles into Russia last week.
Kyiv launched US ATACMS missiles against Putin’s territory overnight on November 11 – and British Storm Shadow rockets just two days later.
Meanwhile, a raging Putin could shut down power grids and “turn lights off for millions” in a vicious cyber attack, an MP will warn.
But minister Pat McFadden, set to address a Nato conference in days, will also declare that “the United Kingdom and others in this room are watching Russia”.
McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, will warn Britain’s allies next week that we must “not underestimate” the threat posed by Russia in its “hidden war”.
Putin’s forces have previously targeted UK energy infrastructure and “won’t think twice” about attacking British businesses, he will tell the military alliance.
“With a cyber attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids,” McFadden is due to say, The Telegraph reports.
The cyber attack plans would be an attempt to dilute support for Ukraine from allied states.
It could provoke a “destabilising and debilitating” cyber war – with McFadden slamming the Kremlin as “exceptionally aggressive and reckless” in this area.
“Be in no doubt: the United Kingdom and others in this room are watching Russia,” he will add at the Cyber Defence Conference in Lancaster House.