US intelligence thanked Putin for Oreshnik wreckage

Using the Oreshnik missile to strike Ukraine will yield the opposite result for Russian dictator Putin than what he is trying to achieve. The use of this weapon has not intimidated Ukrainians, and its debris is already in the possession of Ukraine and the United States, which will allow intelligence agencies to thoroughly study its actual capabilities. 

This was reported by Congressman Jim Himes, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, during a briefing in Kyiv on May 24, according to RBC-Ukraine.

The American lawmaker emphasized that the use of a missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons based on its technical specifications is a clear form of escalation on the part of the Kremlin. At the same time, this move was a miscalculation, as the West and Ukraine gained direct access to the missile’s remains for technical analysis. Himes concluded that this incident is similar to many other decisions made by Vladimir Putin, which ultimately only weaken Russia’s position.

According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, in Bila Tserkva, a garage cooperative and a business were damaged by an Oreshnik strike on May 24, though the target was most likely a local airfield. A second such Russian missile could have fallen on Russian-controlled territory 40 kilometers from the front line, where the positions of the occupying forces were located.