Last night, in his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that Russia’s new hypersonic missile, the Oreshnik, can be countered by present-day air defenses. While there has been a lot of nonsense spouted, since the Oreshnik burst upon the scene, hitting the Yuzhmash military facility in Dnipropetrovsk on Nov. 21, Zelenskyy’s assertion stands out.
Zelenskyy began his address, meant for internal consumption, telling Ukrainians that the West is stepping up their support, funding weapons production inside Ukraine, and the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russia—though more are needed. Then, the second half of his presentation instructed the world to ignore the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who announced that there is presently no defense in the world against such an accurate hypersonic missile and that it will take a bit of time before other countries have what Russia has. Zelenskyy explained:
“Experts are currently analyzing the evidence and working with our partners to establish all the details and specifications of this missile, and to find a response together to this latest Russian escalation. The world has air defense systems capable of countering such threats. Everyone must focus on this.”
Further: “Russia must feel that every step it takes to expand the war has consequences for it.
“Those consequences are reflected in our actions at the front ... also reflected in the actions of the world, in how the world responds. Putin cannot be given a single week to adapt or find countermeasures. We must consistently do everything to force Russia into seeking peace—true peace. This can only be achieved through two things: helping Ukraine and pressuring Russia. I thank everyone around the world who is doing just that—standing with us, with Ukraine, with the Ukrainian people. I thank all our people who are fighting and working for the sake of Ukraine. Slava Ukraina!”
Separately, Zelenskyy had directed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to engage with international partners on acquiring advanced air defense systems. That is likely to be one of the subjects of the Nov. 26 emergency NATO-Ukraine conference.
