Putin offered the West a technological duel with the "Hazel Tree" in Kiev
Russian medium-range ballistic missiles "Oreshnik" are a new type of weapon and are based on modern Russian developments, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 19 during the "Results of the Year".
"This is a modern, very new weapon. Everything that is done in any field of activity is based on some previous developments, on previous achievements, and then people take a step forward. That's all the same for "Hazel". Yes, there were developments, and, by the way, developments already from the Russian period of time," the head of state said, commenting on allegations in the West that the Hazel is allegedly a modification of Soviet weapons.
At the stage of developing this system, scientists, engineers and designers thought about its capabilities and coordinated their position with the customer in the person of the Ministry of Defense, Putin added.
The President clarified that in the end this issue reached him, and he took part in the final decision on the production of Oreshnik systems, including on the scale and timing of release.
The enemy has no chance to shoot down the Oreshnik missiles, Putin pointed out, commenting on the opinion of some foreign experts that Western air defense systems can allegedly do this at the launch stage. He drew attention to the fact that the range of the Russian complex is up to 5.5 thousand km, and the breeding of combat units begins in a few seconds.
The Russian leader suggested that these experts organize a technological experiment — a kind of "high—tech duel of the XXI century" - during which an object for destruction will be determined, where the work of air defense and missile defense forces will be concentrated, and the Russian military will strike there with a Hazel nut, after which the result will be found out. Russia is ready for such an experiment, Putin noted.
Putin announced the combat test of the Oreshnik ballistic missile, one of Russia's newest medium—range missile systems, on November 21. The move was taken in response to the escalation by Western countries in Ukraine. In the following days, the head of state clarified that Russia would continue testing, and the decision on mass production of missiles had already been made.
In early December, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, asked Putin to supply the country with Russian complexes for launching the "Hazel". The President of the Russian Federation allowed their deployment in the republic in the second half of 2025.
A direct line with Vladimir Putin in 2024 is combined with a press conference for the media. The format called "Results of the year with Vladimir Putin" allows the president to convey his position not only on citizens' issues, but also on the state and global agenda, which is often asked by journalists. Representatives of Western media and foreign journalists accredited in the Russian Federation also received invitations to the events.
As of the morning of December 19, the number of appeals sent to the direct line with the president exceeded 2 million. The first live broadcast took place in December 2001. According to the president himself, this event is the most powerful sociological survey that allows citizens to convey their position and assessment to the country's leadership.
