Last week, Russia fired its new intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine and hit a factory in the central city of Dnipro, as the country puts the weapon into mass production
Mass production of Russia’s feared Oreshnik ballistic missiles have begun, according to tyrant Vladimir Putin.
Last week, the new intermediate-range ballistic missile was used in an assault on Dnipro, destroying a factory and bringing it to ruins. In reaction to its launch, Putin claimed the weapon is “unstoppable” and said even the US’ air defence systems would be powerless to stop the new missile, which flies at Mach 10 and is named for the Russian word for hazelnut tree.
Putin said in an address: “Serial production of the Oreshnik has begun, but ultimately the means of destruction will be selected by us depending on the nature of the selected targets for destruction and the threats created for the Russian Federation.”
Putin earlier said: “Modern air defence systems… cannot intercept such missiles. That’s impossible. As of today, there are no means of counteracting such a weapon.”
It is believed the Oreshnik is likely a revamping of an old Cold War intercontinental RS-26 Rubezh missile. Terrifyingly, Ukraine claimed one of the missiles is capable of hitting the UK just 20 minutes after its launch from Russia.
Each of the warheads carry six independently guided missiles, which are dropped on targets below. MReports suggest the Oreshniks are nuclear capable.
Putin earlier told a session of the CSTO Collective Security Council .”According to military and technical experts, in the event of a massive group use of these missiles, that is, several Orekhov missiles in a cluster in one strike, its power, the power of this strike, will be comparable to the use of nuclear weapons.”
The first use of the Oreshniks came in retaliation to Ukraine firing UK and US supplied missiles on Russian territories for the first time, as tensions between the West and Russia rose. Kyiv had previously been banned from using the Army Tactical Missile Systems to strike targets in Russia.
Roman Svitan, a reserve colonel in the Ukrainian armed forces, said: “Most likely, the designation Oreshnik was invented by Vladimir Putin to create the impression of new missile capabilities and intimidate the West, because there is no information about Oreshnik in the public domain. If it was Rubezh, then it has a range of 5,000 to 6,000 kilometres. It will reach London as well.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky last week demanded international action after the use of the powerful missile on his country. He said: “[Putin] is lying when he says Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons is some kind of new step.
“The world must react to this. Putin is very sensitive to this. He is testing you, dear partners. He must be stopped. If there is no harsh reaction to Russia’s actions, then they see this is possible. Putin must feel what his sick ambitions are worth.”