Russian military expert responds to information that Ukraine is developing missiles that can reach Moscow
Experts say that testing the missile could take several years. At the same time, Ukraine simply does not have the capacity to mass-produce such missiles at present.
Previously, the Economist magazine (UK) said on December 24 that Ukraine is developing the Trembita missile, capable of flying to the Russian capital Moscow.
“The basic Trembita model reaches a speed of 400 km/h and has a range of 200 km. A larger and more powerful model that can fly to Moscow is currently under development,” the Economist said, adding that series production is expected to begin after the final field tests are completed.
According to the Economist, the rocket engine uses the same mechanism as the V-1 bullet used by Nazi Germany in World War II. The article also said that producing a Trembita missile would cost only $3,000 in the experimental version and $15,000 for the final version with a 20-30 kg warhead. This cost is about 12 times cheaper than the cost of producing similar bullets in Western Europe.
These statements by the Kiev authorities came after the Russian Armed Forces used the Oreshnik medium-range missile system for the first time.
Military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin in a conversation with RT commented on the information about Ukraine developing Trembita missiles, saying: “We will wait and see what they will do. So far, Ukraine has often shared myths, but what happens in reality is still unclear.”
The expert also drew attention to the fact that reports about missiles allegedly developed by the Ukrainian military-industrial complex have been going on for more than 10 years, but no one has seen any of these projects.
Military observer Alexander Butyrin also expressed great doubts about Ukraine's ability to produce such weapons. He explained that, firstly, Ukraine's production technology has been lost; secondly, over the past few months, all important production areas and factories have been attacked by the Russian Armed Forces with missiles, which means that Ukrainian technological areas that could produce such weapons are also absent in Ukraine.
Butyrin also stressed that field testing of the missile could take several years. “This could be how the Economist describes Kiev’s efforts to achieve its dream. Currently, Ukraine is not capable of organizing large-scale production of any weapons, especially such high-tech weapons,” Mr. Butyrin said.
Sharing the same view, Alexey Podberezkin, director of the Center for Military-Political Studies, said that Ukraine could produce one or two missiles, but mass production was a completely different story, because “there are simply no such resources.”
