Ukraine insists on receiving American THAAD missile defense systems to intercept Russian medium-range ballistic missiles "Oreshnik" before their warheads separate, BTA reported.
This was said by Colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces Markus Reisner, head of the Institute for Officer Training at the Theresian Military Academy, in an exclusive comment to an Ukrinform correspondent.
„Putin's press conference contained mostly one thing: a threat to Europe. It was also an attempt to send a message to his own population: we have a new "miracle weapon" and with it we will win the war. In this way, Putin is challenging the West to a duel: Russia's "miracle weapon" against Western missile defense systems, the expert said.
From a military perspective, Reisner emphasizes that both the quality and quantity of missile defense systems play a decisive role in determining the outcome of such a confrontation.
"In other words, the outcome of this duel depends largely on the number of interceptor missiles relative to the number of attacking missiles. The situation becomes more complicated when the attacking missiles are equipped with multiple warheads, as is the case with the medium-range Oreshnik missile. In this case, it is important to intercept the carrier missile at an early stage, before its warheads separate,” Reisner said.
He also highlighted the capabilities of the US THAAD system to address this challenge, emphasizing Ukraine’s urgent need for such advanced protection.
“In this context, it should be noted that Ukraine needs defense systems such as the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system. The US has these systems and has already delivered them to Israel,“ he said.
According to Reisner, the Russian Oreshnik is "another wake-up call" for Europe, which must be responded to immediately.
“The appearance of Oreshnik is another wake-up call for Europe. "We must act quickly here and do everything possible to resist such a threat if we want to avoid further blackmail from Russia," the expert said when asked how to respond to Putin's missile blackmail.