Vladimir Putin: With a missile like Oreshnik, we don't need nuclear weapons

< p>Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a sufficient number of systems such as the Oreshnik medium-range missile system will minimize the need to use nuclear weapons, the BBC quoted him as saying.

"We are not tightening the nuclear doctrine, we are improving it," Putin said at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.

"Because if you look, a sufficient number of these advanced weapons systems simply make it practically unnecessary to use nuclear weapons," Russian agencies quoted Putin as saying.

On November 21, Russia launched a ballistic missile "Oreshnik" along the Dnieper, then Putin said that this was a new development of Russian industry.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin's Strategic Missile Forces (SRMS) Commander Sergey Karakaev, "Oreshnik" has characteristics that allow it to strike targets across Europe,

"This hypersonic cluster missile system can engage any target - from single to zoned as well as heavily defended - with high efficiency. Based on the missions and range of this weapon, it can engage targets across Europe, which sets it apart from other long-range precision weapons.