Russia claimed on Friday that it used powerful laser weapons in its brutal war on Ukraine; the ‘next generation’ weapons were used to burn down drones launched by Ukrainian forces, according to Moscow. The weapons are thought to include a mobile laser system first announced by Vladimir Putin in 2018 and capable of blinding orbiting satellites as well as destroying drones, according to Russia.

The use of lasers by Russia has heightened fears of advanced weaponry, such as the Kinzhal hypersonic missile or even nuclear or chemical weapons. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appears unconcerned (for the time being) and has mocked Russia, comparing the laser weapons to Nazi Germany’s “wonder weapons” promised to avoid defeat in World War II.

In 2018, Putin debuted a slew of new weapons, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, underwater nuclear drones, a supersonic weapon, and a laser system.

It is unclear how many laser weapons systems Russia controls; the names of at least two of them, Peresvet and Zadira, have been circulated.

In 2018, Putin unveiled Peresvet, a weapon named after a mediaeval warrior monk named Alexander Peresvet. The weapon’s capabilities and capabilities are unknown. It can be used against drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, according to military experts, but bad weather can thwart it.

On Wednesday, Russia’s deputy prime minister in charge of military development, Yury Borisov, claimed that Peresvet had been deployed and that it could blind satellites up to 1,500 kilometres above the Earth.

Borisov also warned of even more powerful laser weapons systems, such as those capable of destroying drones and other equipment, and claimed that they had been deployed in Ukraine. “…the first prototypes are already in use there,” he said, adding that the weapon’s name is Zadira.

“If Peresvet blinds, then the new generation of laser weapons results in the target’s physical destruction – thermal destruction, they burn up,” he told Russian state television. Borisov claimed that a military test (which he did not independently verify) resulted in a drone five kilometres away being destroyed in five seconds.

Zadira, like Peresvet, is a character about whom little is known. According to Reuters, Russian media reported in 2017 that the state nuclear corporation Rosatom was assisting in the development of a laser weapon as part of a programme to develop weapons based on new physical principles.

A retired Australian army major general told The Washington Post that weapons like Zadira could take down reconnaissance drones and Ukrainian artillery, as well as blind Ukrainian soldiers. However, he added, the latter tactic is prohibited by international convention.