What do we know about Russia’s new ballistic missile, the Oreshnik? | Russia-Ukraine war News

President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Russia has tested a hypersonic intermediate-range missile in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Ukraine.

The Kremlin said the attack was in response to Ukraine’s recent use of US- and UK-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.

Joe Biden, the outgoing US president, and his administration recently gave the green light for Ukraine to launch long-range strikes on Russia, a move that has heightened tensions.

The Pentagon said the US had been informed about the launch of the nuclear risk reduction stations.

Here’s what you need to know:

What is Oreshnik, Russia’s new ballistic missile?

The new intermediate-range missile, the Oreshnik, which means hazel in Russian, is a nuclear weapon that has never been publicly announced.

The Pentagon said it was based on the “RS-26 Rubezh” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of at least Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound – and can target aircraft mid-flight, making them difficult to track and intercept.

The missile could have three to six warheads, military expert Viktor Baranets wrote in the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid.

Igor Korotchenko, editor of the Moscow-based National Defense magazine, told TASS news agency that based on the video of the strike, Oreshnik has independently directed warheads.

Why did Russia use this missile now?

Russia is in revenge mode.

The launch came after Ukraine fired US- and UK-launched missiles into Russian territory for the first time, escalating tensions in the three-year conflict.

This follows the lifting of Kyiv’s ban, imposed by Washington, on the use of high-precision Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike targets in Russia.

Moscow says six US-made ATACMS missiles were launched in Russia on Tuesday, while British Storm Shadow cruise missiles and US-made HIMARS missiles were fired into the country on Thursday.

Moscow says this makes Western countries authorize Ukraine to use its missiles to attack Russia, who are directly involved in the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Moscow had “no doubt” that Washington understood the Dnipro strike to be a warning.

“The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of the Western countries, which produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine, and participate in strikes on Russian territory, will not remain without a reaction from the Russian side,” said Peskov.

What does Putin say about the attack?

In an unscheduled televised appearance on Thursday, Putin said the strike on the city of Dnipro had been tested under combat conditions by “one of Russia’s medium-range missiles”.

Putin said it was used in a “non-nuclear hypersonic launch” and said the “test” was successful and hit its target.

Putin said air defenses cannot stop Oreshnik.

“Modern air defense systems … cannot stop such missiles. That is impossible,” Putin said.

“As of today, there is no way to fight such a weapon,” the president boasted.

Putin also said that Russia “will deal with the question of the continued deployment of short-range ballistic missiles based on the actions of the United States and its satellites”.

What does Ukraine say about the strike?

Kyiv said Russia had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and a range of other missiles at Dnipro.

Local authorities said the attack hit infrastructure and injured two people.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of “clear escalation”.

An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has a range of 1,000-5,500km (621 to 3,418 miles), less than that of an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said it was fired from the 4th Missile Test Range, Kapustin Yar, Astrakhan region of Russia and flew 15 minutes before hitting Dnipro.

This missile had six weapons, each with six bullets. The maximum speed the missile reached was Mach 11.

What happens next?

NATO will hold an emergency meeting with Ukraine at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss Moscow’s use of the missile, a NATO source said on Friday.

The Western military alliance confirmed that the NATO Ukraine Council, which includes NATO allies and Ukrainian partners, will meet at Kyiv’s request, but did not provide details on the topic of the talks.