Vladimir Putin has been urged to unleash Russia’s Oreshnik missile on Ukraine (Image: Getty)
‘s cronies are urging the Russian leader to unleash a 7,600mph Oreshnik ballistic missile on after Kyiv mounted its biggest drone attack on since the war began. Colonel-General Andrey Kartapolov said the decision is Putin’s, but added “it would not be unreasonable” to target with an Oreshnik. He added: “Better yet, more than one.”
targeted 10 regions in with 343 drones, leaving three people dead and 18 wounded, including three children, according to officials. The Ukrainian air force said launched 126 drones and a ballistic missile towards . It formed part of Moscow’s relentless pounding of civilian areas during the war.
Kartapolov labelled Kyiv’s drone attack on Moscow as a “propaganda move” aimed at “showing off” before talks between the US and in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (March 11), according to remarks quoted by , citing ‘s TASS state news agency.
has already targeted with Oreshnik missiles, striking Dnipro in November last year.
Kyiv targeted 10 regions in Russia with 343 drones overnight (Image: Getty)
Putin described the strike as a “test” of the new intermediate-range ballistic missile and linked its use to ‘s targeting Russian territory with Storm Shadow cruise missiles and ATACMS, supersonic tactical ballistic missiles provided by the West.
Experts suggested the Russian missile was launched from ‘s Kapustin Yar facility, identifying the projectile as an RS-26. Kyiv said six warheads were used by in the Dnipro attack.
The Oreshnik travels at Mach 10 (7,673mph), making it almost impossible to intercept, and can strike at targets up to 3,107 (5,000km) away.
Most of the Ukrainian drones fired overnight — 126 of them — were shot down over the Kursk region across the border from , parts of which Kyiv’s forces control.
Ninety one were shot down over the Moscow region, according to a statement by ‘s Defence Ministry.
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Russia’s Oreshnik missile travels at Mach 10 (Image: Getty)
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 70 drones targeted the Russian capital and were shot down as they flew towards the city — the biggest single attack on Moscow so far in the war.
The governor of the Moscow region surrounding the capital, Andrei Vorobyov, said the attack damaged several residential buildings and a number of cars.
Flights were temporarily restricted in and out of six airports, including Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky just outside Moscow. Airports in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions were also affected.
Today’s talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah come after Mr Trump paused US military aid to last week, along with some intelligence sharing, in a bid to pressure Ukrainian President to engage in negotiations to end the war against .
Mr Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel later this week to Moscow, where he could meet with Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorised to comment publicly. The person cautioned that timetable could change.