"We should focus on helping Ukraine's Defense Forces stand strong" – Bundeswehr General on Oreshnik launch

This statement came from Major General Christian Freuding, head of the special staff for Ukraine at Germany’s Ministry of Defense, during his visit to Kyiv, as reported by Espreso correspondent Kateryna Halko.

“This is not a weapon system that Russian troops have already deployed. It was more of an experiment. Our priority should be figuring out how to help Ukraine’s forces defend against such weapons,” Freuding said.

The general emphasized that it’s a mistake to obsess over what Putin might do next.

“I believe our focus must remain on how we can further support Ukraine’s Armed Forces and strengthen them for the future. We cannot allow ourselves to be dictated by what Putin thinks he’ll do next,” Freuding stated.

He underlined that the initiative should stay with Ukraine and its Western allies, not Russia.

“I’m not a technical expert or an air defense specialist – I’m an army officer. But from what I’ve learned in recent days, this is a weapon system that’s quite hard to intercept. There needs to be a technical conversation on how to counter it. And our partners need to work out how they’ll help Ukraine counter even such systems,” he concluded.

Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch: What we know

On the morning of November 21, Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a Kinzhal missile, and a Kh-101 missile over Ukraine. Air defense forces successfully shot down six of these targets.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed that during the November 21 attack on Dnipro, Russia tested its Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile. He warned that Moscow would “respond to escalation.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s use of this new ballistic missile a second step towards further escalation, following the involvement of North Korean military personnel in the conflict.

On the evening of November 21, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong response to Putin’s claims about the use of the Oreshnik missile against Ukraine.

According to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, the strike on Dnipro involved a ballistic missile from the Kedr system, carrying 36 submunitions. Initially, it was thought to be an RS-26 “Rubezh” ICBM, but Putin later referred to it as the medium-range Oreshnik missile.

Putin stated that Moscow would continue testing the Oreshnik missile system, calling it a “guarantor of sovereignty” and claiming it represents the work of experts in what he calls the “new Russia.”

Ukraine’s Security Service presented evidence of this latest Russian act of aggression, sharing fragments of the Oreshnik missile with international media after it struck Dnipro.