German expert: Russia’s missile program built on hype, not capability

This opinion was expressed in an interview with Ukrinform by renowned German expert and Senior Fellow at the Munich Security Conference, Nico Lange.

“The modern Russian missile program essentially consists of announcements and propaganda. And Putin, of course, must ask himself: if there aren’t even digital radio systems, which he paid for, and the money was instead used to build villas on the Côte d’Azur, then what’s the situation with everything else?” the expert said, referring particularly to the much-hyped Oreshnik missile.

These missile programs, such as Oreshnik, are still at the prototype stage, and it was a prototype that was launched at Dnipro. In general, there are very few such missiles; some of them couldn’t even launch. However, Lange cautioned, some of the produced missiles have not yet been used, so the threat still exists.

The expert also believes that Putin has a false impression of the actual capabilities of his ground forces.

“I get the impression that the Russian military leadership overpromised what they could achieve with these offensives… I think Putin believes he can achieve more than is realistically possible. And that’s why he is willing to initiate offensive actions,” Lange stated.

In his assessment, Putin will likely attempt to achieve more on the battlefield in the coming weeks. Russia is utterly ruthless when it comes to sacrificing its own people, and for Putin, it seems to be no issue at all to send thousands of Russians to their deaths. Russia is exploiting Ukraine’s personnel shortages, but even if it advances, it does so very slowly. Still, as long as it’s advancing, Putin will avoid participating in serious negotiations. The fact that Russian forces are now actively operating in Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions will further complicate any future talks, Lange added.

Overall, Lange is convinced that Russia’s military capabilities are limited. Talk of a summer offensive and announcements about capturing every village are primarily information operations, which unfortunately influence some Western audiences and impact the debate over aid to Ukraine. The German expert emphasized the need to stop fearing Putin and believing the propaganda his regime spreads.

Lange concluded by saying there “may be a chance for a more positive turn of events in the coming months.”

As reported, there is high activity of Russian invading forces observed in the Pokrovsk, Novopavlivka, Lyman, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Toretsk, and Kramatorsk sectors of the front. This indicates a renewed enemy offensive that had been previously announced.