Day 1010

The maniac next door

… The CSTO is a military and political organisation. Some of our colleagues have asked me to report extensively on the latest developments in the zone of conflict in Ukraine, the zone of the special military operation, in view of the recent developments. Certainly, recognising the importance of the ongoing events, I will gladly provide an update on the situation today, as I believe it is my duty to inform you about the latest events.

As you know, earlier this month, Western officials announced their decision to authorise the Ukrainian armed forces to launch strikes at Russian territory using long-range high-precision weapons produced in the West. We have repeatedly pointed out that this decision would mean direct involvement of Western countries in the armed conflict, as it is simply impossible to deploy this type of weapons without directly involving the military personnel and the military specialists from the respective NATO countries. As you know, despite our warnings about the dangers of escalating this conflict, strikes were delivered at targets in the Bryansk and Kursk regions with American ATACMS missiles and the British Storm Shadow missiles. I spoke about the consequences of these attacks and the damage we sustained, in my statement on November 21.

For your information – some of our colleagues asked me to provide this information as well – the Russian Iskander missile system and its modifications represent the Russian analogue of all three ATACMS missile modifications. The warhead weight in TNT equivalent is about the same, but Iskander has a longer range. The new US-made PrSM missile is not superior to its Russian counterparts in any specification.

The Storm Shadow air-launched missile, the French SCALP, and the German Taurus have a warhead weighing between 450 and 480 kilogrammes in TNT equivalent and a range of 500 to 650 kilometres. The German Taurus missile has a 650- kilometre range.

The Kh-101 air-launched missile is the Russian analogue of these systems which has a comparable in terms of power warhead, but significantly exceeds each of the European-made systems in terms of range. The new US-made PrSM missiles, as I mentioned earlier, as well as the JASSM, are inferior to their Russian counterparts in terms of technical specifications.

Without a doubt, we are aware of the number of the relevant weapons systems that are in service of our potential adversaries. We know how many of them are kept in storage facilities. We know their exact location, how many weapons have been supplied to Ukraine, and how many more are planned to be supplied.

As far as the production of relevant missile systems and relevant equipment is concerned, Russia has 10 times more of them than the combined output of all NATO countries. Next year, we will increase the production by another 25 to 30 percent.

We can see that the Kyiv regime ringleaders are begging their masters for military equipment of a different kind. Let no one forget about the Kalibr, Kinzhal and Zirkon hypersonic missile systems, which are unmatched around the world in terms of their technical specifications. Their production is also being ramped up and is going at full speed.

More such products may show up shortly on our menu of the products of this class, if I may put it that way. As they say, customer satisfaction is guaranteed.

By the way, we used these particular weapon systems over the last two days in response to the continued strikes by ATACMS missiles targeting the territory of Russia. We used a total of 100 systems, 100 different-class missiles which I just mentioned, and 466 strike drones.

Last night we carried out a comprehensive strike using 90 missiles of similar classes and 100 drones. 17 targets were hit. These were military facilities, defense industry facilities and their support systems. I repeat once again: these strikes on our part also took place in response to the ongoing strikes on Russian territory by American ATACMS missiles. As I have said many times, there will always be a response from our side.

And finally, the newest hypersonic strike system "Oreshnik" in a non-nuclear version. We were forced to test it in combat conditions - forced, as I already said, in response to the Western weapons strikes on the territory of the Bryansk and Kursk regions with ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles.

Of course, there are no analogues of "Oreshnik" in the world. And I think such analogues will not appear anytime soon. Let me remind you once again how "Oreshnik" works, as you asked.

Dozens of warheads, homing blocks, attack the target at a speed of 10 Machs, which is about three kilometers per second. The temperature of the striking elements reaches 4000 degrees. If my memory serves me right, the temperature on the surface of the sun is 5.5-6 thousand degrees. Therefore, everything that is in the epicenter of the explosion is divided into fractions, into elementary particles, turning, in essence, into dust. The missile hits even highly protected objects located at great depths.

According to military and technical experts, in the case of a massive, group use of these missiles, that is, several "nuts" at once, in a cluster in one strike, its power, the power of this strike, will be comparable to the use of nuclear weapons. Although the "Oreshnik" is certainly not a weapon of mass destruction. Firstly, because - and this was confirmed by the test on November 21 - this is a high-precision weapon, and secondly, and this is the most important thing, there is no nuclear charge here, and therefore no nuclear contamination after its use.

Today, we have several ready-to-use products of this kind. And of course, we will respond to the ongoing strikes on Russian territory with long-range missiles of Western manufacture, as has already been said, including by possible continuation of the "Oreshnik" test in combat conditions, as was done on November 21.

At present, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Russian Army are selecting targets for destruction on the territory of Ukraine. These could be military facilities, defense industry enterprises or decision-making centers in Kyiv. Moreover, the Kiev regime has repeatedly attempted to strike at objects of national importance in Russia: St. Petersburg and Moscow. And these attempts continue.

Serial production of the Oreshnik has begun. But ultimately, the means of destruction will be selected by us depending on the nature of the targets chosen for destruction and the threats created for the Russian Federation.

Dear colleagues!

Everything that I have just said, everything that I have reported to you now, is certainly of great importance. But the most important thing is that even with the most modern weapons, the fate of any military conflict, any military campaign, including a special military operation, is decided "on the ground", on the battlefield. Ultimately, everything depends on the soldier. Of course, for victory, both equipment and ammunition, and combat kit are necessary. But the most important thing is motivation, the internal readiness of a person to fight, and if necessary, to sacrifice himself in the name of the Fatherland.

For what, for example, should forcibly mobilized Ukrainian servicemen and officers give their lives today? For the Bandera neo-Nazi regime that has taken up residence in Kyiv? For its leaders, who have already lost their legitimacy? After all, they did not go to the elections. They are completely illegitimate today. And from a legal point of view, they do not even have the right to give orders to the armed forces, since they are usurpers of power.

Incidentally, those who carry out these orders also become accomplices to crimes of this kind, these crimes. They do not have the right to push people to death and drive them to the slaughter. Moreover, as I have already said, these orders are criminal.

Our fighters, on the contrary, understand perfectly well what they are fighting for, what they are shedding blood for. They see that it has fallen to their lot, to the lot, perhaps, of our generation as a whole, as it has happened more than once in our history, to stand in the way of those forces that have once again decided to destroy Russia, to inflict, as they say today, a strategic defeat on it.

Therefore, our guys are fighting for the Motherland, for the future of Russia and their children. And therefore no supplies, even of the most modern weapons, to Ukrainian territory will change the situation on the battlefield.

We have people of different nationalities in the army, some will cross themselves, some will ask Allah for help. But all together they will go forward, and nothing will stop them.

I want to thank my colleagues for paying attention, and in this context it is very important that we remember the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, the anniversary, the eightieth anniversary of this Victory.

Of course, in all our countries this event will be held at the highest state level. I hope that you will find the opportunity to come to these celebratory events in Moscow, to the celebratory events on May 9. In addition, we invite military crews of the CSTO countries together with the Russian military to take part in the parade on Red Square.