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Germany seen defenseless against Russia’s Oreshnik missile system — report

Bild said the German Foreign Ministry commissioned an internal government analysis on defense from ballistic missiles

BERLIN, December 27. /TASS/. Germany is practically defenseless against the Russian Oreshnik missile system, the Bild newspaper reported, citing an internal document of the German Foreign Ministry.

According to the German newspaper, the Bundeswehr currently has no operational weapons to defend against such ballistic missiles.

"The Patriot is not right to combat longer-range ballistic missiles, such as the Oreshnik," Bild quoted the document as saying. "Any interception would be more like sheer luck."

According to the report, that’s because of the missile's high speed, maneuverability and separable warheads.

Bild said the German Foreign Ministry commissioned an internal government analysis on defense from ballistic missiles. The assignment was given to the Bundeswehr liaison officer at the Foreign Ministry, who is supposed to enlist the help of air defense experts at the Defense Ministry.

"The order came without any specific reason, such as an upcoming trip. It is unclear why the German Foreign Ministry wanted to document this defense gap in Germany. After all, these facts are known to the Ministry of Defense, and appropriate measures have long been taken," a military expert told Bild.

The German Foreign Ministry declined to comment to Bild.

On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that in response to strikes on Russia with Western long-range weapons, Moscow for the first time launched its newest intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, with a non-nuclear warhead at a Ukrainian defense industry plant called Yuzhmash in the city of Dnepr. Oreshnik has a guaranteed capability to hit any target at a range of up to 5,000 kilometers, leaving no chance to an adversary of intercepting it. Later, the Russian leader said that Moscow could use the Oreshnik again if need be, but would not make hasty decisions.

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