On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents
Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents
Get a weekly international news dispatch
The Russian military said it had fired its hypersonic Oreshnik missile at a target in Ukraine in response to what it described as an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences, something Kyiv has called a lie.
It is the second time that Russia has used the intermediate-range Oreshnik, a missile which President Vladimir Putin has boasted is impossible to intercept because of its reported velocity of more than 10 times the speed of sound.
The missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads as well as conventional ones, but there was no suggestion that the one used in the overnight attack had been fitted with anything other than a conventional warhead.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the strike had targeted critical infrastucture in Ukraine. It said Russia had also used attack drones and high-precision long-range land and sea-based weapons.
open image in gallery
« The strike’s targets were hit. The targets included facilities producing unmanned aerial vehicles used in the terrorist attack (allegedly against the Putin residence), as well as energy infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, » the ministry said in a statement.
What is the Oreshnik?
The Oreshnik, whose name means Hazel Tree, is an intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile that Russia has fired only once before against Ukraine, in November 2024. On that occasion it was equipped only with dummy warheads and therefore caused limited damage, Ukrainian sources said, in what was effectively a test. If the overnight attack carried explosive warheads, it would mark the first time that Russia has used the Oreshnik with full destructive intent. The strike targeted what Russia called critical infrastructure in Ukraine, though the extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
What is special about the Oreshnik?
Experts say the novel feature of the Oreshnik is that it can carry multiple warheads capable of simultaneously striking different targets – usually associated with longer-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The missile is based on the RS-26 Rubezh, which Russia had originally developed as an intercontinental missile.
Like many Russian weapons systems, it is capable of carrying nuclear as well as conventional warheads, but there was no suggestion of any nuclear component to the overnight attack.
Ukraine said the missile fired in 2024 took about 15 minutes to reach its target after being launched from southern Russia, and reached a speed of about 13,600 kph (8,450 mph).
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the Oreshnik is impossible to intercept and that it has destructive power comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, even when fitted with a conventional warhead.
Some Western experts have said those claims are exaggerated. In December 2024, a U.S. official said the weapon was not seen as a game-changer on the battlefield, calling it experimental in nature and saying Russia likely possessed only a handful.
open image in gallery
Since 2024, Russia has put the Oreshnik into serial production and also supplied it to its ally Belarus.
The Russian military said it fired the Oreshnik in response to what Moscow says was an attempted Ukrainian drone attack late last year on one of Putin’s residences in Novgorod, northern Russia. Ukraine said Russia was lying, and that no such attack took place.
Putin had previously threatened to use the Oreshnik, including against « decision-making centres » in Kyiv, if Ukraine continued to attack Russia with long-range Western weapons, but had refrained from doing so until now.
The overnight attack was directed against the Lviv region of western Ukraine, which borders NATO member Poland. Ukraine’s foreign minister called it a « global threat » that demanded a global response.
The escalation comes as U.S. President Donald Trump struggles to persuade Russia and Ukraine to agree a peace deal to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
