Zelensky: Russia’s search for ‘wonder weapon’ illustrates failure of invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said that Russia’s announcement that it has been using powerful lasers to target drones was like Nazi Germany’s propaganda about a “wonder weapon.”

“In the propaganda of Nazi Germany there was such a term ‘wunderwaffe,’ wonder weapon,” Zelensky said. “The clearer it became they had no chance in the war, the more propaganda there was about the wonder weapon, which would be so powerful that it would provide a turning point in the war.”

“And here we see that in the third month of a full-scale war, Russia is trying to find its ‘wunderwaffe,’ allegedly laser,” he added, saying “all this clearly indicates the complete failure of the invasion.”

Zelensky’s remarks come after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Moscow was using a new generation of laser weapons in the war in response to an influx of Western weapons for Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Though the details of the laser are largely unknown, Yury Borisov, Russia’s deputy prime minister of military development, said that some weapons, labeled by Russia as Peresvet, were capable of blinding satellites above Earth, while others were even more powerful.

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

He claimed that the weapons were already being used in Ukraine. 

Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, Ukraine has for months fought off Russian forces and has received billions of dollars in support and weapons supplies from the U.S. and other nations. 

This week, a $40 billion package to further aid the besieged country is likely to pass the Senate on Thursday, according to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).