The Lajes base is listed by the Russian news agency Sputnik as one of the targets that could be hit by the new Oreshnik missile that the Russians recently tested by firing over Ukrainian territory.

The Terceira base is among “the main NATO installations within range of the Russian hypersonic missile.”

In a text published by Sputnik Brasil, “Which are the main European NATO bases within the range of Oreshnik?” – https://noticiabrasil.net.br/20241123/quais-as-principais-bases-europeias-da-otan-dentro-do-alcance-do-oreshnik-37473983.html -, the Lajes Base is identified as “NATO’s main transatlantic logistics center”. It could be attacked under Putin’s doctrine of attacking the facilities of “countries that allow the use of their weapons against our territory.”

According to Sputnik, the new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile has a flight speed of 2.5-3 km/s, a payload of 1-1.2 tons, and several independently steerable re-entry vehicles.

“Designated as an intermediate-range missile, it reaches up to 5,500 km. Its combat fire test took place on Thursday (21) against a Ukrainian military-industrial target in Dnepropetrovsk. Oreshnik is believed to have traveled 1,000 km or more from Russia’s Astrakhan region,” reads the report.

“Such a range, as assessed by Western media,” concludes Sputnik, ”allows Oreshnik to reach any European city within 20 minutes.”

In Portugal, the Lajes Base is the only target mentioned. Targets are listed in the following countries: Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Finland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, the United Kingdom and Spain.

Sputnik is an international news agency launched by the Russian government. It is operated by the state company RossiyaSegodnya and has been replaced by the RIA Novosti news agency and the Voice of Russia radio.

Sputnik is seen as a tool of the Russian government for propaganda abroad. Access to the agency is blocked in several Western countries because it is a propaganda outlet.

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director

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