Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal about the "technological duel" between the Oreshnik missile and the Western air defense was a response to the question about the vulnerability of the new Russian missile. Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated this when asked whether the Russian president's words about the "duel" were a joke.

"It is very important to talk about these statements of the president in the context of the question that was given to him. This was not his initiative, he was asked to explain the potential vulnerability [of the Oreshnik missile]. And so the president, as he usually does, went into quite a bit of detail about how this missile works and so forth, and how it is not susceptible and how susceptible it is to the effect of existing anti-aircraft defense systems," Peskov said.

During a press conference Thursday, the Russian president had proposed a "duel" to the Western experts who doubt the Russian-made Oreshnik missile: to select a target for destruction in Ukrainian capital  Kyiv, concentrate air defense forces there, and try to stop the strike.