Is Russia fielding laser weapons in Ukraine? Pentagon does not think so
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Pro-Russian troops are seen atop a tank in Ukraine's southern port city of Mariupol.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The Pentagon said on Friday (May 20) there were no indications that Russia had used laser weaponry in Ukraine, following claims by Moscow that it was fielding a new generation of powerful lasers there to strike enemy drones.
"We don't have any indication of the use of lasers, at least weaponized lasers, in Ukraine. Nothing to confirm on that," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing.
Yury Borisov, Russia's deputy prime minister in charge of military development, said earlier this week that Moscow had developed a new generation of laser weapons that would burn up their targets, with a prototype called "Zadira" being used in Ukraine.
Almost nothing is publicly known about Zadira, but in 2017 Russian media said state nuclear corporation Rosatom helped develop it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mockingly compared reports about the Russian lasers to the so-called "wonder weapons" that Nazi Germany unveiled in a bid to prevent defeat in World War II.
"We see that in the third month of a full-scale war, Russia is trying to find its 'wonder weapon'... this all clearly shows the complete failure of the mission," Zelensky said on Wednesday.
