Russia launched an intercontinental missile at Ukraine: Putin's goal and the threat of a new strike.

According to ТСН: On January 9, the Russian army carried out a massive missile strike on Kyiv, and also attacked the Lviv region with an intercontinental ballistic missile, presumably the so-called "Oreshnik." Military expert Oleg Zhdanov noted in a comment that the main goal of the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin remains unchanged — to intimidate the civilian population.

Missile strike on Kyiv

“Well, look, let's talk about the raid itself. The goal for Putin remains the same — intimidation. And that is why there were many cases of hits on buildings. Do you see how they program them? The 'Shahed' comes in and starts circling in the area of dense residential buildings,” says Oleg Zhdanov.

The expert drew attention to the possible use of cluster munitions, indicating an intention to strike at peaceful residents: “If it is confirmed that the ballistic missile was in a cluster variant, what is the purpose of the cluster? The cluster exists to hit openly located enemy manpower and unarmored vehicles. In other words, it was aimed at the civilian population.” He also emphasized that the main strike was aimed at the energy system of the capital.

“Most of the ballistic missiles, as far as I understand, and the missiles, as well as some 'Shaheds' were directed at Kyiv's energy system. And the strike was on Kyiv itself,” the expert noted.

Zhdanov links this attack to international political processes: “This, in my opinion, is Putin's response to the plan that was agreed in Paris the day before. We, by the way, talked about this with you. As soon as the plan is approved, and literally in the coming days it should be delivered to Washington, here comes Putin and made such a revenge regarding the fact that we are not discussing his plan of 28 points, but are writing our own plan together with Europe.”

Strike with 'Oreshnik' on Lviv

Commenting on the strike on the Lviv region, Zhdanov indicated that it was aimed at NATO countries: “As for the 'Oreshnik', this is the same, only for NATO. And I think that the target for the 'Oreshnik', if it really was him, was chosen exclusively to demonstrate capabilities on the border of NATO and Ukraine.”

According to the expert, this launch was to be recorded by the Alliance's missile defense systems: “And thus, the Lviv region, Poland was just observing this strike. And the NATO missile defense system was supposed to detect this missile and accordingly transmit all data regarding the fact that Russia has ballistic missiles that can reach NATO countries on the European continent,” explains Oleg Zhdanov.

Characteristics of 'Oreshnik' and its consequences

Zhdanov explained that the 'Oreshnik' is a complex missile system designed with consideration of international treaty restrictions: “This is a very cunning system, it is a complex 'Rubizh.' This is a medium-range intercontinental ballistic missile, but the Russians did it very cunningly. The average range ends at five and a half thousand kilometers, but they manufactured a missile for six thousand kilometers,” he said.

The missile has a separate warhead: “It has a separating warhead, which usually consists of six sub-elements. In the video from Lviv, about six of these elements are flying, and six explosions were heard by local residents.”

Threat from 'Oreshnik'

According to Zhdanov, this missile poses a serious threat, even without a nuclear charge: “It can cause very significant destruction because the speed is very high, and at such a speed, the mass increases manifold. A strike with such an iron shell at such speed can be compared to a ton of explosives.”

Missile stockpiles in Russia

The expert noted that Russia has significant missile stockpiles and can repeat the attack at any moment: “The stock, which is not decreasing, is about 900 thousand missiles of various types. So I think they have the means to repeat.”

Next massive strike

Zhdanov emphasized that Putin is used to linking strikes to political events: “Now the next political event is the agreement of this plan with Donald Trump and its transfer to Moscow. Here is your reason for Putin to carry out a massive combined strike.” He also does not rule out repeated attacks to continue the pressure: “In order to really 'extinguish' Kyiv and create a blackout here, a total blackout.”

Ukraine's defense

In the expert's opinion, Ukraine has resources for defense, but there are technical difficulties: “I think we still have means to defend ourselves even tomorrow. Our problem is density. It is impossible to accurately predict the route where the missile will fly.”

He concluded that the Ukrainian air defense can repel such strikes, but only if the targets fall within the damage zone: “This is the main problem,” says Oleg Zhdanov.

This news emphasizes the constant threat posed by Russian missile attacks to Ukraine. Military experts note that such strikes not only damage infrastructure but also create an atmosphere of intimidation among the civilian population. Upcoming changes on the international stage may affect Russia's further actions, and Ukraine needs to be prepared for new challenges.

Protecting Ukrainian airspace and mitigating the consequences of such attacks remain priority tasks for the state amid the current threat correspondence.