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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday scoffed at Russia’s claims this week that it had used a laser weapon in Ukraine as a sign of its “utter failure” in the war.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told state Russian media that Moscow had deployed a laser weapon called “Zadira” for use by its military units in Ukraine.
Borisov claimed the laser weapon could burn targets up to three miles away in five seconds.
In this photo provided by the Press Office of the President of Ukraine, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens to his meeting with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday April 1, 2022. (Press Office of the President of Ukraine via AP)
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The claims have not been substantiated by senior US defense officials.
Zelenskyy slammed the claims as Russia’s newest “wonder weapon” — a nod to the propagandistic term “wonder weapon” coined by Nazi Germany during World War II.
“This clearly shows the total failure of the invasion,” said Zelenskyy.
“It became all the more clear [the Nazis] had no chance in the war, the more propaganda was made about the miracle weapon,” added Zelenskyy, declaring that the weapon was “so powerful that it would bring about a turning point in the war”.
Zelenskyy said the Kremlin’s latest claim showed he was “afraid to admit that both government and military officials have made catastrophic mistakes.”
A soldier of Russia’s Rosguardia (National Guard) with an attached letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, stands guard during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
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Russia’s latest claim comes amid reports from Western defense officials that despite three months of fighting, Moscow has been frustrated by its lack of progress in Ukraine and has begun removing senior military officials from its ranks.
US defense officials have repeatedly said that the war in Ukraine is not going according to Putin’s plans, who likely believed his “military special operation” in Ukraine would be completed in a matter of weeks.
A senior US defense official told reporters on Wednesday that Russia is making “gradual progress towards the Black Sea”.
Russian military and pro-Russian separatists watch as civilians are evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, March 24, 2022. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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The official noted that Russian forces in eastern Ukraine have begun targeting smaller targets in order to achieve their ultimate goal of “complete control” over the region.
But the official said Russian forces still face logistical problems and communication barriers between commanders remain an issue.
“They did not fix their coordination problems,” the official said.