Putin's threats about Oreshnik missile lack real potential — military expert Zgurets

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

Zgurets stated, "In fact, this is Russia's attempt to provoke political escalation and try to convince Ukrainian partners that they truly possess new weapons. This is a continuation of the logic of nuclear deterrence, where Russia blurs the criteria for using nuclear weapons and lowers the thresholds for deploying nuclear potential."

According to the military expert, the strikes on Dnipro demonstrated that the Oreshnik "does not possess the potential that Putin claims. There are no suitable non-nuclear warheads for this weapon."

Zgurets emphasized, "What Putin is saying is completely different from reality. We saw six blocks burning beautifully in space in certain areas, creating a visual effect of an impact. However, upon examining the aftermath, it became clear that these were dummies. While they have some kinetic potential, it is practically impossible to ensure accuracy with this weapon. The Rubezh and Oreshnik missiles are related and were designed to carry a nuclear warhead, the power of which compensates for the lack of accuracy."

The military expert explained that it is impossible to hit even a football field with the Oreshnik, as its aiming accuracy has an error of 250-500 meters in radius.

“The remnants of the Oreshnik dummies did not actually cause any damage, if you look at satellite images from the Pivdenmash area. This shows that the real military potential of this weapon is minimal. But the political potential, the potential for psychological influence, is what Russia is trying to maximize in Putin's statements that have nothing to do with reality,” Zgurets emphasized.

The military expert added that Putin is capitalizing on the perceptions of both Ukrainian and European citizens, claiming that this is a weapon with maximum effect.

“In fact, this weapon has nothing to do with the effect compared to nuclear weapons. Russia now has a limited number of these missiles, and these weapons have limited technical capabilities to hit,” Zgurets summarized.

• Russian leader Vladimir Putin has warned that decision-making centers in Kyiv could be targeted by the new Oreshnik missile, which Russia deployed in its attack on Ukraine's Dnipro on November 21.