Russia’s use of the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile in its latest overnight attack on Kyiv has once again brought focus on one of Moscow’s most closely watched new weapons of the Ukraine war.
The missile was used during a large-scale Russian assault involving hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, Ukrainian authorities said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Oreshnik struck Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, while Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed the use of the weapon and said the strikes targeted Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases and military-industrial sites.
The attack killed at least four people across Ukraine and injured nearly 100, according to a Reuters report. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched around 600 drones and 90 missiles from air, sea and ground platforms, with air defences intercepting or jamming a large number of them.
What is the Oreshnik missile?
Oreshnik, which translates roughly to “hazelnut shrub” in Russian, is a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile that Moscow has projected as a state-of-the-art weapon. Russia ‘s most recent attack marks only the third known usage of the missile in the four year long war.
Western and Ukrainian assessments have linked the missile to Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh programme. According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Threat project, Russia first used the Oreshnik in combat against Dnipro on November 21, 2024, after launching it from Kapustin Yar.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the missile can travel at the speed of 12,348 km per hour (10 times, the speed of sound) and can destroy deep underground bunkers. He has also said that multiple Oreshnik missiles fitted with conventional warheads could cause damage.
Why is it difficult to intercept?
The Oreshnik’s main concern is not only speed, but also the way it delivers its payload. Experts have said the missile can carry multiple warheads capable of striking different targets, a feature usually associated with longer-range strategic missiles.
Reuters reported earlier that the Oreshnik is based on the RS-26 Rubezh and that its multi-warhead capability is what makes it significant.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously claimed that the weapon is difficult, if not impossible, to intercept. Ukraine, which depends heavily on Western-supplied air defence systems such as Patriots to counter ballistic missiles, has repeatedly said it needs more such systems to protect major cities.
Is Oreshnik nuclear-capable?
Yes. The missile is understood to be capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear warheads. As per experts interviewed by Reuters, the missile’s known capability is one of the key reasons why its use in Ukraine is seen as a military as well as a political signal.
Reuters reported that the Oreshnik has a range of several thousand kilometres and can carry a nuclear warhead. The use of such a weapon in a conventional strike allows Moscow to demonstrate the danger of nuclear-capable delivery systems without crossing the nuclear threshold.
This is also why European leaders have described the latest strike as escalatory. The concern as put forth by experts interviewed by Reuters is not only the immediate battlefield damage, but the broader message Russia is sending to Ukraine’s Western backers.
The latest strike underlines Russia’s continued effort to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences through combined attacks involving drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons.
For Ukraine, the Oreshnik’s use adds pressure at a time when Kyiv is seeking more air defence support from the US and Europe. Even if most drones and missiles are intercepted, ballistic and hypersonic systems remain harder to stop, especially when launched as part of a much larger assault.