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The Russian military said it had fired a hypersonic Oreshnik missile at a target in Ukraine in response to a Ukrainian drone attempt to strike a residence of President Vladimir Putin, a move Kyiv said was a lie.
It is the second time Russia has used the medium-range Oreshnik missile, which President Vladimir Putin has boasted is impossible to intercept because it reportedly travels at more than 10 times the speed of sound.
The missile is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads, but there is no indication that the missile used in the night attack was equipped with any other warheads besides conventional warheads.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack targeted critical infrastructure in Ukraine. According to reports, Russia has also used attack drones and high-precision long-range land- and sea-based weapons.
“The targets of the attack were hit,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement. “The targets included facilities that produce drones used in terrorist attacks, allegedly targeting Putin’s official residence, as well as energy infrastructure that supports Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.”
What is Oreshnik?
The “Olesnik” missile, whose name means “Hazel”, is a medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile. Russia has only launched it once against Ukraine in November 2024. Ukrainian sources said that the missile was only equipped with a dummy warhead, so the damage caused was limited and it was actually a test. If the nighttime attack carried an explosive warhead, it would mark the first time Russia has used an Oreshnik missile to cause total destruction. The attack targeted what Russia called critical infrastructure in Ukraine, but the extent of the damage was unclear.
What’s so special about Oreshnik?
Experts say the novelty of the Oreshnik missile is that it can carry multiple warheads and attack different targets simultaneously – usually associated with long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The missile is based on the RS-26 Rubezh, which Russia originally developed as an intercontinental missile.
Like many Russian weapons systems, it is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads, but there was no indication that the nighttime attack contained any nuclear component.
Ukraine said the missile launched in 2024 would take about 15 minutes to reach its target after being launched from southern Russia, reaching a speed of about 13,600 km/h (8,450 mph).
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the Oreshnik missile cannot be intercepted and that even if equipped with a conventional warhead, its destructive power is comparable to that of a nuclear weapon.
Some Western experts say these claims are exaggerated. In December 2024, a U.S. official said the weapon was not seen as a game-changer on the battlefield, describing it as experimental in nature and suggesting that Russia likely possesses only a handful of weapons.
Since 2024, Russia has put “Olesnik” into mass production and supplied it to its ally Belarus.
The Russian military said it launched the Oreshnik missile in response to what Moscow said was an attempt by Ukrainian drones to attack a Putin residence in Novgorod, northern Russia, late last year. Ukraine says Russia is lying and says no such attack took place.
Putin has previously threatened to use Oreshnik missiles if Ukraine continues to use Western long-range weapons to attack Russia, including against the “decision-making center” in Kiev, but has only now done so.
The nighttime attack targeted the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which borders NATO member Poland. Ukraine’s foreign minister called it a “global threat” that required a global response.
The escalation comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to persuade Russia and Ukraine to reach a peace agreement to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.