'Peresvet' and ‘Zadira': Russia unveils new laser weapons against Ukraine

As the West continues to send arms and pledges to donate billions of dollars as war aid to Ukraine, Russia has claimed that it has deployed its two ‘state-of-the-art’ laser weapon systems—'Peresvet’ and ‘Zadira‘—to burn drones.

The announcement was made by the deputy prime minister and in charge of military development, Yury Borisov, on Thursday who said that even more powerful laser-based weapons capable of destroying their targets are being tested and deployed in the war, according to Reuters.

Detailing the prowess of the lasers, the deputy PM cited a recent test where the Zadira burned a drone more than five kilometres (three miles) away in seconds.

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“If Peresvet blinds, then the new generation of laser weapons lead to the physical destruction of the target — thermal destruction, they burn up,”Reuters quoted him as saying on Russian state television.

He called “Zadira” the most powerful laser system than Peresvet.

However, Ukraine President Vlodomyr Zelensky trashed the claims by drawing parallels to Nazi Germany’s “so-called wonder weapons” that were “unveiled in a bid to prevent defeat in World War Two.”

“The clearer it became that they had no chance in the war, the more propaganda there was about an amazing weapon that would be so powerful as to ensure a turning point,”Reutersquoted him as saying in a late night video address.

What do we know about the two laser weapons?

1) Russian leader Vladimir Putin had unveiled an array of new and deadly weapons in 2018, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, underwater nuclear drones, a supersonic weapon and a laser system.

2) Little is known about the specifics of the new laser. Putin back then mentioned Peresvet, named after a medieval Orthodox warrior monk Alexander Peresvet who perished in mortal combat.

3) Borisov said that Peresvet was already being widely deployed and it could blind satellites up to 1,500 km above Earth.

4) Asked if such weapons were being used in Ukraine, Borisov said: "Yes. The first prototypes are already being used there." He said the weapon was called "Zadira".

5) Though there is no public information available about Zadira, the Russian media in 2017 said that state nuclear corporation Rosatom helped develop it as part of a programme to create weapons-based new physical principles.

(With inputs from agencies)

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