In the middle of an intensifying global arms‑development race, Vladimir Putin announced in August that Russia had officially added its newest next‑generation strategic weapon to its military arsenal.
“We’ve produced the first serial Oreshnik system — the first missile of its kind. It’s already in service,” Putin declared during a televised appearance from Valaam, in northwest Russia.
This isn’t the first time the Oreshnik name has surfaced. In November of last year, a missile identified under the Oreshnik code struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in an overnight attack. Pavel Aksenov, a military analyst for the BBC’s Russian service, warned at the time that Moscow had used “a new, intermediate‑range conventional missile,” according to the outlet’s reporting.
Until now, the weapon had been in testing — with the Dnipro strike as the lone exception. But today, Moscow used it again. The hypersonic missile hit the city of Lviv, less than 100 miles from the Polish border. Lviv’s mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, said the missile traveled at roughly 13,000 kilometers per hour (about 8,100 mph).
“This is the first time this type of attack has been used against Lviv during the full‑scale war. The city is less than 70 kilometers from the European Union’s border. It’s a clear signal to our international partners: Russia’s war respects no boundaries,” Sadovyi wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian officials say Russia launched the strike as supposed “revenge” for an alleged attack on a property linked to Putin — an accusation Kyiv denies. Moscow, meanwhile, claims it targeted “critical infrastructure,” including drone‑manufacturing facilities.
A Weapons System Russia Calls ‘Unmatched’
As Russia ramps up construction of new launch infrastructure, Putin has confirmed plans to deploy the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missiles across the country starting next year.
After the Dnipro strike, Putin highlighted the missile’s extreme speed. The Oreshnik can reportedly reach 2.5 to 3 kilometers per second — roughly Mach 10 — making it effectively impossible for enemy air‑defense systems to intercept.
Russian officials describe the Oreshnik as a weapons platform “without parallel anywhere in the world.” Putin first unveiled the system back in 2018, a moment that some analysts described as the start of a “new Star Wars‑style arms race between Russia and NATO,” according to reporting from El Comercial.
What Makes the Oreshnik Stand Out
Russia’s latest missile boasts several features that military analysts say give it a significant edge:
- Long‑range ballistic capability, able to travel thousands of miles with a margin of error of only a few dozen meters.
- Hypersonic speed, maintaining an average of 2.5–3 km/s throughout its flight.
- Up to six independently guided warheads in its front section.
- Potential nuclear capability, according to Russian experts.
As Russia continues to escalate its weapons development, the Oreshnik’s deployment marks another step in a rapidly evolving — and increasingly dangerous — chapter of modern military technology.
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