The development of hypersonic technology was one of Russia’s responses to the West’s aggressive expansion. Look at the impact of the Kinjal in Ukraine in March 2022 (to such an extent that the Ukrainians, genuinely frightened by the Russian strikes, asked to negotiate). And now the Orechnik. For the moment, both strikes have only targeted Ukrainian territory. But the message has clearly been received loud and clear in Washington and at the Pentagon: the Russians have a weapon that has no equivalent on the American side . . .

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