Russia escalates missile capability with Oreshnik deployment

Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Friday with the leaders from the Russian defence ministry and the military-industrial complex. During the discussion, they reviewed the results of the recent use of the Oreshnik missile by Russia, which struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The Kremlin leader supported the proposal to integrate the Oreshnik into the Russian intermediate-range missile system and to enhance the missile's strike power.

Sergey Karakaev, head of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces Command, quoted by the TASS agency, said that considering the positive result of the missile's test use, it is seen as sensible to continue its further use while increasing its parameters and improving personnel skills in its operation. Putin briefly responded, "We will do this."

Putin emphasized, as in his recent address, that "modern air defence systems... cannot intercept such missiles." He noted that these are high-precision attack weapons, not weapons of mass destruction. "All the more so as we have a stockpile of such products, a reserve of such systems ready for use," said Putin. Oreshnik missiles reach speeds of 10 Mach, which is about 2,000 to 3,000 metres per second.

The leader also mentioned that the missile system is based on Russia's latest advancements and is not a modernization of older Soviet systems. The president declared that the results achieved and the speed of development of the new system aroused pride and admiration. He stated that they demonstrated the immense potential of the national school of rocket science and its capability to solve the most complex problems to ensure Russia's security and sovereignty.

Putin stated in his Thursday address that Russia deployed the Oreshnik missiles in response to American and British missile attacks on Russian military targets in the Kursk and Bryansk regions. He warned that Oreshnik could also carry a nuclear payload.

"The Russians today launched a new kind of missile at Ukraine, what the Defense Department is calling an "intermediate-range ballistic missile," or IRBM," said Pentagon Deputy Spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on Thursday. She also emphasized that the Americans immediately informed Ukraine about Russia's intention for such an attack. She assured that Putin's threats against the USA and other countries would not deter America from assisting Kyiv.

"I can confirm that Russia did launch an experimental intermediate range ballistic missile. This IRBM was based on Russia's RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile model," Singh said during a press briefing.