Putin challenges West to 'high-tech duel' against Oreshnik missile in Ukraine
19 December 2024, 13:27
Vladimir Putin has challenged the West to a 'high-tech duel' in Kyiv, to test whether an attack could be stopped in time.
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Putin mockingly suggested that he would give advance notice of a hypersonic missile attack and see if Ukraine's Western allies would be able to step in and stop it.
Addressing scepticism over the Oreshnik missile at an annual news conference, he suggested both sides should select a designated target to be protected by US missiles.
The Oreshnik missile was first used in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on November 21.
It came in response to Ukraine's use of US and UK missiles to strike Russian territory.
Putin threatened that Moscow could launch more strikes on Ukraine with the missile and warned it could also be used to target military facilities of the countries that allowed Ukraine to use their missiles for attacks deep into Russia.
Read more: Putin issues stark warning as he accuses West of pushing him to his 'red lines'
"There is no chance of shooting down these missiles," he said.
"Let Western experts propose to us, and let them propose to those in the West and the US who pay them for their analysis, to conduct some kind of technological experiment, say, a high-tech duel of the 21st century.
"Let them determine some target for destruction, say in Kyiv, concentrate all their air defence and missile defence forces there, and we will strike there with Oreshnik and see what happens.
"We are ready for such an experiment, but is the other side ready?"
Putin, who has held power for nearly a quarter of a century, also said the military was "advancing towards achieving our goals" in what he calls the special military operation in Ukraine.
"The situation is changing radically, we are advancing along the entire front line. Every day," he said.
"The fighting is difficult, so it is difficult and pointless to guess what lies ahead... [but] we are moving, as you said, towards solving our primary tasks, which we outlined at the beginning of the special military operation."
When asked when Ukraine would be pushed out of Russia's Kursk region, he said he was unable to say but vowed it would be "liberated".
Putin has said that Moscow stands ready for talks on a peaceful settlement to the conflict but reaffirmed his demand that Ukraine must renounce its bid to join Nato and recognise Russia's gains.
Ukraine and the West have rejected those demands.
