An enraged Vladimir Putin is likely to turn to nuclear weapons after Kiev humiliated the despot by downing its supposedly “unstoppable” hypersonic missiles, a retired US Army brigadier general said today.
This week Ukraine announced it had shot down six of Russia’s hypersonic ‘Kinzhal’ missiles – days after the US military confirmed that Kiev had downed another of Putin’s hypersonic missiles using the US Patriot defense system.
Kevin Ryan, who was chief of staff of the US military’s Space and Missile Defense Command, said that with Putin’s “unstoppable” missiles being destroyed, a decisive victory for the Russian leader is increasingly out of reach. lie. .
Ryan warned that if Putin cannot force victory with conventional weapons, the frustrated despot will “probably turn to nuclear weapons.”
“Putin is running out of ways to escalate the war in a way that would force Ukraine – and the West – to withdraw,” Ryan, a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center in the US, told MailOnline.
Air defense missiles over Kiev on Monday evening as Ukraine claimed it had downed six of Russia’s hypersonic ‘Kinzhal’ missiles
The remains of a Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile used by Russia to attack Kiev
His massive invasion and frequent bombardments failed to bring him a decisive victory. If he cannot force victory with conventional weapons, he will probably turn to nuclear weapons.’
Russia has lost an estimated 197,000 soldiers since the start of the war, as well as thousands of Russian military vehicles, including tanks and infantry transport vehicles.
“Russia’s conventional (non-nuclear) forces are already showing that they are not up to the task in Ukraine. That’s why Putin relies so heavily on nuclear threats,” Ryan said.
“If the Kinzhal is proven to have failed to live up to expectations, the effectiveness of the entire spectrum of Russian strategic weapons, nuclear and non-nuclear, will be called into question.”
Ukraine said yesterday that its robust air defense system, made up of Soviet-era and Western-supplied platforms, managed to successfully shoot down 18 Moscow missiles, six of which were reportedly hypersonic “Kinzhal” missiles.
It was the first time Ukraine claimed to have fired an entire salvo of multiple Kinzhal missiles, and if confirmed would be a demonstration of the effectiveness of its newly deployed Western air defenses.
The 7.5-meter Kinzhal hypersonic missiles can carry conventional or nuclear warheads and were touted as “unstoppable” by Putin in 2018.
The Kinzhal can be fired from the MiG-31, Tu-160 or Tu-22M3M fighters and was used by Moscow in the war.
It has a range of 2000 kilometers and the conventional version was first deployed against Ukraine in March 2022.
Ryan warned that if Putin (pictured in Moscow on Wednesday) cannot force victory with conventional weapons, the frustrated despot will “probably turn to nuclear weapons”
Explosion of a Russian-launched missile in the sky over Kiev in the early hours of Tuesday morning
But with their apparent destruction in Kiev on Tuesday, experts say there will be a huge psychological impact on Russian soldiers on the front lines, whose morale is already at an “all-time low” amid heavy casualties on the battlefield.
Alan Mendoza, executive director of the British think tank Henry Jackson Society, told MailOnline: ‘Seeing your own miracle weapons shoot out of the sky can only have a detrimental effect on the already deplorable Russian front-line morale.
“These soldiers know they will take more casualties without the offensive capabilities generated by a missile strike force.”
John Kennedy, chief of defense and security research at RAND Europe research institute, said the downing of the hypersonic missiles will make Russian soldiers question the wisdom of their commanders.
Putin himself has publicly displayed the outcome of these programs, including the Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missile, on state television. He wanted to give the impression that Russia had a military advantage over NATO,” Kennedy told MailOnline.
But the Kinzhal has apparently failed to give Putin the unstoppable capability he promised.
“If Russian soldiers are not already doubting the wisdom of their commanders, the interception of a weapon that Putin himself was showing off will probably suffice,” Kennedy said. expect counteroffensive.
Mendoza said Kiev’s ability to shoot down the deadly Kinzhal missiles – which Russia has used to cripple Ukraine – will allow Ukrainian forces to focus on fighting on the front lines.
He said this is just the latest setback for Putin in his war in which hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers have died.
“This is the latest in a long line of setbacks for the man who is the architect of Russia’s current predicament. The war he launched to prove Russia’s strength and vitality has shown its weakness and sclerosis,” Mendoza said.
In another blow to Putin, the UK said last week it would supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles.
The Storm Shadow missiles allow Ukrainian forces to hit Russian soldiers and command centers deep into Moscow-held territory in eastern Ukraine.
Retired US Army colonel Gian Gentile, who twice served in Iraq, said the deadly missiles will leave Russian soldiers “trembling with fear” amid Ukraine’s impending counter-offensive.
Britain and other Western countries have stepped up their military aid to Ukraine this year, with Britain saying in January it would send 14 of its main Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, a commitment followed by other countries, including the United States and Germany.
It is widely believed that Ukrainian forces are gearing up for a long overdue counter-offensive against Russian forces, with gains already claimed around the Bakhmut focal point.
But Mr Zelensky has yet to succeed in his coveted goal of employing Western fighter jets to seize command of the skies, although Rishi Sunak yesterday announced preparations to open a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots.