00:00Mr. President, you have recently signed the amendments to the nuclear doctrine.
00:07Do you think the signal has been received and understood in the West?
00:12I don't know.
00:14You should ask them.
00:15I know what the amendments are.
00:19The doctrine is not new, but the amendments are somewhat new.
00:26I'll tell you about the key changes.
00:29We talk about the new emerging military threats that can turn into military threats, like
00:35the emergence of anti-missile systems and several other factors, and they're all named
00:41in the doctrine.
00:42We also speak about raising the responsibility of non-nuclear states that might participate
00:49in an aggression against the Russian Federation, together with those countries that are in
00:55possession of nuclear weapons.
00:57And if these countries, just like their allies, create any threat to Russia's sovereignty
01:04or to the very existence of Russia, then we believe we have the right to use our nuclear
01:11weapons against them.
01:13And there is another component, which is also related to managing our military arsenal.
01:22The fourth thing, we have made an announcement.
01:27We've made an announcement that if similar threats are created to our allies, to the
01:34member of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, to Belarus namely, then Russia is going to
01:39view that in the same light as creating similar threats to Russia.
01:45So we're going to do everything in our power to ensure Belarus's security.
01:51This is something we're doing in coordination and with the consent – in coordination with
01:58and with the consent of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.
02:03I think this is a very important component of Russia's updated nuclear doctrine.
02:08Konstantin Kokovashnikov, Zvezda TV channel.
02:12I have to ask you about the statements we've been hearing from you over the last several
02:19weeks.
02:20You spoke about the first military test of Oreshnik.
02:24It seems as if it is a perfect weapon, even though in the West it's still dubbed as a
02:30modification of an old Soviet missile, saying that the air defense system can bring it down
02:37even at the moment of launch.
02:41Can you comment on that?
02:42And what about the sense behind the name of this Oreshnik?
02:46Because there are different theories as to why it received this name.
02:50First, whether that is an old weapon or new weaponry, it's a cutting-edge type of weapon.
03:01Of course, anything that is being done anywhere is based upon previous achievements.
03:06And then we make a step forward.
03:09And the same thing applies to Oreshnik.
03:12Yes, there were certain developments in the past, some of them dating back to the new
03:19Russian history.
03:20And based on that groundwork, our researchers and scientists have been thinking what else
03:26they can do.
03:27They talked to the client, namely the defense ministry.
03:32And it was even brought up to my level.
03:36And I weighed in on the final decision on whether this new missile has to be produced
03:42and in what volume.
03:44This is a new weaponry, short-range and intermediate-range missile.
03:51You said that several experts in the West believe that it can be easily intercepted
03:58and destroyed, especially at the moment of launch.
04:04What can I say to these experts?
04:07The thing is there are different types of air defense systems, because you should know
04:12that there are Patriot air defense systems, which there are also THAAD systems.
04:23I don't know whether they have those in Ukraine.
04:27Maybe if Americans want, they can supply those systems to them.
04:32It's similar to our S-400, whereas the Patriot is more or less like S-300, whereas this new
04:42one high-altitude air defense system is more or less like S-400.
04:49Let them do that.
04:51And we'll ask our guys in Ukraine to find some good solutions.
05:04Well, when I say our guys, I say that without irony, because there are those we can talk
05:11to in Ukraine, because there are many people in Ukraine who are dreaming of building their
05:18country of this neo-Nazi regime.
05:22But the thing is, THAAD is basically an anti-missile system, and for many years before, we had
05:33been asking the Americans not to deploy those systems, otherwise we would have to find systems
05:41that would allow us to penetrate those systems.
05:44We had to come up with the Vanguard system, which is kind of a cruise missile, which follows
05:51the landscape without going too high.
05:57So basically, all of that is only leading to new expenses, especially for American taxpayers,
06:04without giving anything in return.
06:09That said, this system has been developed and deployed.
06:16There are two positions in Romania and in Poland, and there are 24 anti-missiles deployed
06:25there.
06:26I think they're called Standard 3 in Romania.
06:34It's the 1B modification with a 300-kilometer range, and it can intercept missiles at 80
06:44to 250 kilometers of altitude.
06:46In Poland, there is a newer modification.
06:49It can intercept as far as 1,000 kilometers and at the altitude of up to 500 kilometers,
06:58whereas Oreshnik is an intermediate-range missile, and it's 1,000 up to 5,500 kilometers.
07:09That's the range of Oreshnik.
07:10Now, just imagine, our system is deployed 2,000 kilometers away.
07:22Even if the anti-missile is deployed in Poland, it's not going to be able to intercept.
07:29They say that the missile is very vulnerable at the launching stage, but they won't be
07:36able to intercept those missiles so far, moreover, the launching sites are protected, moreover,
07:49it takes time for the anti-missile to get to the missile, but it takes several seconds,
07:55and then it's too late to catch or to intercept it.
07:58So there is, yeah, before the separation, so there is no chance that the missile is
08:05going to be brought down by the anti-missiles.
08:09So if the experts in the West think so, well, let them come up with a proposal to us and
08:17to the U.S., they can suggest kind of a technological experiment, kind of a high-tech fighting duel
08:27of the 21st century.
08:29They can designate a target, say, in Kiev.
08:33They can concentrate all of their air defense and anti-missile defense there, and we will
08:39strike it with Oreshnik, and we'll see what's going to happen.
08:43We're willing to conduct such an experiment.
08:46What about the other side?
08:48Are they ready?
08:51Well, we understand all of their anti-missile and anti-air defense systems are on high alert.
08:58They're ready.
08:59But, you know, what I've just told you is what I have learned from our engineers, from
09:04our scientists, and, of course, the American political leadership also get their information
09:11from their experts.
09:12So let's conduct this duel and look at the outcome.
09:16It's going to be interesting because it's going to be useful both to us and to the American side.
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