Understanding the Oreshnik Missile: Russias New Threat to Ukraine and Beyond

An intermediate-range ballistic missile named «Oreshnik,» used by Russia during a nighttime attack on Ukraine, is labeled by the Kremlin as a «cutting-edge» weapon that cannot be intercepted.

Initially launched against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in 2024, the missile—its name derived from the Russian term for hazel—was said by Moscow to target «strategic sites» within Ukraine.

Russian military commentators reported that it was employed to strike a significant gas storage facility in the Lviv region of western Ukraine.

Here are key details about the missile:

The Russian government states that the Oreshnik is classified as an intermediate-range missile, capable of hitting targets located between 3,000 and 5,500 kilometers (1,860–3,400 miles) away.

Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces—responsible for the country’s nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile program—asserted that the Oreshnik can target «anywhere in Europe.»

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an important ally of Putin, claimed last month that the Oreshnik has been stationed in Belarus, which shares a border with NATO’s eastern territory.

In response, Moscow declared that this missile system had «entered active service.»

Ukraine indicates that the missile was launched from the Kapustin Yar testing ground near Volgograd in southern Russia.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2024, the Oreshnik is equipped with «multiple warheads, homing warheads.»

He noted that it is not intended to cause widespread destruction since «it lacks a nuclear warhead, meaning there is no radioactive contamination following its use.»

Military analysts suggest that the Oreshnik could potentially carry nuclear warheads.

Putin claimed that the missile’s destructive force can achieve temperatures comparable to those at the Sun’s surface.

«Thus, everything within the explosion’s epicenter disintegrates into fragments, essentially turning into dust,» he explained in 2024.

He further stated that the missile is capable of striking «even highly protected targets located deep underground.»

Witnesses at the site of the initial Oreshnik attack in Dnipro reported minimal damage — a roof torn off a building and charred trees. Ukrainian officials echoed this, indicating that the missile might have been fitted with dummy warheads.

Local residents described a «terrifying noise» and brilliant flashes of light during the strike.

Putin asserted that modern air defense systems are «unable» to intercept the Oreshnik, which strikes at Mach 10, or approximately 2.5-3 kilometers per second.

Experts acknowledge that while the missile can achieve hypersonic speeds, it does not maneuver in the same manner as conventional hypersonic missiles.

«As with other intermediate- and intercontinental ballistic missiles, its warheads re-enter the atmosphere and reach their destinations at hypersonic speeds,» noted Marcin Andrzej Piotrowski, an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), in 2024.

«However, unlike hypersonic weapons, the Oreshnik’s warheads do not maneuver at hypersonic speeds, which would complicate anti-missile defense efforts,» he added after the initial strike.

In 2024, Putin stated that the Oreshnik is «not an upgrade of an outdated Soviet system» but rather a «modern, advanced» technology.

The U.S. Defense Department characterized the Oreshnik as an «experimental» missile based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.

Karakayev revealed that this missile, classified as a «ground-based medium-range system,» was developed following an order from Putin made in July 2023.