Kyiv denies reports of alleged failed Russian Oreshnik missile launch at Ukraine
Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security on Feb. 7 refuted media reports of Russia's alleged failed launch of its new intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, at Ukraine.
The statement came after Forbes, citing Ukrainian soldier and blogger Kyrylo Sazonov, wrote that Russia launched another Oreshnik missile on Feb. 6 "apparently targeting Kyiv." Sazonov claimed that the missile "didn't fly far" and exploded in Russia.
"The article in the U.S. media is based only on Sazonov's assumptions, not on actual data," the statement, published by the center that operates under Ukraine's Culture and Information Ministry, read.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia has officially reported the launch of Oreshnik.
Russia launched the Oreshnik against Ukraine once following Kyiv's first successful use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles on a military target in Russia last November. Moscow later acknowledged additional ATACMS strikes on targets in Kursk and Bryansk oblasts.
The missile, launched at Dnipro, was described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a response to Ukraine's use of American and British weapons to strike deeper into Russia.
While Putin has announced plans for mass production of the Oreshnik, a U.S. official told The Kyiv Independent that Russia likely possesses only a small number of these experimental missiles.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that only a few air defense systems can repel the Oreshnik, and Ukraine does not yet possess these capabilities.
Chris York
