Putin says Russia is ready for a missile duel with the U.S

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday suggested a missile 'duel' with the United States that would show how Russia's new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile could defeat any U.S. missile defence system.

Addressing Western scepticism about the Oreshnik, Putin suggested that both sides select a designated target to be protected by U.S. missiles.

“We're ready for such an experiment,” Putin said.

Putin also said that Oreshnik was a modern weapon, though it is based on previous Russian design developments.

Russia first fired the Oreshnik missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Nov. 21, in what Putin cast as a response to Ukraine's first use of U.S. ATACMs ballistic missiles and British Storm Shadows to strike Russian territory with Western permission.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Maxim Rodionov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)