Russia will launch the serial production of its new powerful Oreshnik missiles in the “near future,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.“In the near future, serial production of such systems should be ensured to protect the security of Russia and our allies,” said Putin in a speech at the Russian Defense Ministry’s final board meeting of the year on Monday, which was publicly broadcast.Russia first used the Oreshnik missile to strike the Ukrainian city of Dnipro late last month in response to Kyiv’s use of long-range missiles provided by France, the United States and the United Kingdom to strike targets within Russia. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said last week that he had asked Putin to provide him with the new missiles, and Russia agreed to supply Oreshniks “for free.”The Russian leader had previously said the new missiles fly at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by air defense systems.He also said Oreshniks reduce the need for nuclear weapons, in a move to downplay potential nuclear escalation in the war against Ukraine.However, during the same defense meeting on Monday, Putin also noted that Russia “needs to maintain the development of strategic nuclear forces,” and “keep non-strategic nuclear forces in combat readiness.”
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