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'Resets the West's Strategy.' What the Oreshnik Strike on Yuzhmash Showed
Direct Translayion via Google Translate. Edited.by Gevorg Mirzayan [REGNUM] On November 21, Russia struck the Ukrainian Yuzhmash plant with an Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile.  This was a response to the attacks on Russian territory by Western long-range missiles, President Vladimir Putin said. The launch's goal was achieved. Ukrainian media and Telegram channels, naturally, write that the ground damage to the plant is minimal. But we need to look deeper, and in the literal sense. "Yuzhmash" is a military enterprise with a powerful underground infrastructure, which was created in Soviet times and which we could not reach with conventional weapons, the head of the Center for the Study of Military and Political Conflicts Andrei Klintsevich noted in an interview with IA Regnum. There, he continued, warehouses, workshops for the production of drones and equipment are deployed there. And "Oreshnik" reached them - hypersonic blocks that went at insane speeds, broke through the thickness of concrete and destroyed underground communications. The strike itself, in addition to the obvious military necessity to test the Oreshnik, also had a political component that Western countries should understand. The same ones that recently used (through the hands of Ukrainians, of course) ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles to strike territories that they themselves recognize as Russian. "By launching long-range missile strikes deep into internationally recognized Russian territory, the West has moved to direct military action. From a proxy war on Ukrainian territory to a direct war against Russia," Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, explains to Regnum. By striking Yuzhmash, Putin showed that the West had played itself out. And that the rules of the game had changed. In particular, the president showed determination. "Putin has demonstrated that Russia has the political will to respond - and to respond in kind. To ensure its security by all means," Dmitry Suslov is confident. And it is not only about the first combat use of a medium-range ballistic missile in Europe. Moscow has made it clear that it has the right to strike military targets of states that attack our borders with their missiles. Now suppliers of high-tech weapons to the Kyiv regime must think about it - just like those who, not long ago, were talking in all seriousness about the possibility of sending their military contingents to parts of the new regions of the Russian Federation controlled by the Kyiv regime (counting on the fact that Moscow will not have the political will to respond). Now Moscow has not only the will, but also the tool for a retaliatory strike. And, what is extremely important, the tool is non-nuclear. "We sent a signal that we had created a system that was optimal for the current nature of military operations with the West. After all, what did he count on? It won't come to ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles. - Ed.), and we won't be able to reach them with conventional weapons - the same Iskanders, which have a range of 500 km. And they will be able to shell us with impunity through their Ukrainian satellite," says Andrey Klintsevich. With the strike on Yuzhmash the situation changed. The Oreshnik can reach any point in Europe, and it is impossible to intercept it. "There are currently no means of counteracting such weapons. The missiles attack targets at a speed of 10 Machs - that is 2.5-3 kilometers per second. The modern air defense systems in the world and the missile defense systems created by the Americans in Europe do not intercept such missiles, this is excluded," Vladimir Putin explained in his address. This nullifies the entire US strategy of deploying advanced missile defense systems in Europe. In particular, it reduces the role of the AEGIS Ashore complex, recently launched in Poland, which was nominally supposed to intercept such missiles, noted Andrei Klintsevich. The complex will not work, retaliation can come anywhere in the European Union. Moreover, the West will not be able to deliver the same blow - in this case it will receive a nuclear response. This is directly stated in the new Russian nuclear doctrine. "Putin said that Russia could launch ballistic missile strikes on NATO countries. Yes, NATO could launch ballistic missile strikes on Russian territory in response, but you need to read point 19 of the nuclear doctrine. It states that the launch of ballistic missiles - and it doesn't matter whether they are nuclear or non-nuclear - is one of the conditions for Russia to use nuclear weapons," Dmitry Suslov said. In the near future, Oreshnik may be used against Ukrainian targets to support the Russian army during the SVO. At the same time, Moscow, as throughout the special operation, maintains the most humane line possible in combat conditions. "When selecting, if necessary and as a response, targets for destruction by systems such as Oreshnik on the territory of Ukraine, we will offer in advance to civilians, and also ask citizens of friendly states located there, to leave the dangerous zones. We will do this for humanitarian reasons - openly, publicly," Vladimir Putin said. The mechanism for such warnings, said presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, is currently being developed. At the same time, Russia's humaneness is explained not only by its concern for the citizens of Ukraine, but also by its desire to establish a dialogue with the European population, bypassing the Russophobic elites there. Moscow expects ordinary Europeans (who are now extremely concerned about the hawkish aspirations of their own rulers) to draw the right conclusion about who is the aggressor in this war, and who is defending their own interests. Who is thinking about global crusades, and who is concerned about the population of Europe. At the same time, Europeans, like Ukrainians, must understand that the key priority of the Russian president remains concern for the Russian population - for its well-being, security and future. And if tough steps need to be taken for the sake of this security, the Russian president will do so. “The updated version of the principles of state policy in the area of nuclear deterrence significantly lowers the nuclear threshold and expands the number of situations in which Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons,” recalls Dmitry Suslov. The West just has to understand and accept this. This requires, among other things, a demonstration of the power of Oreshnik - well, or regular demonstrations. After all, not everyone understands it the first time. Posted by: badanov 2024-11-23 |
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