What is Oreshnik, a hypersonic missile used in a major attack against Kiev

Russia carried out attacks against Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, on Saturday (23), after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered retaliation for a Ukrainian offensive that hit a university dormitory in Starobilsk, an occupied city east of Luhansk, on Friday (22).

During Saturday night, the Ukrainian Air Force issued a warning about the launch of a medium-range ballistic missile. The missile used by Russia is called Oreshnik, a high-powered Russian projectile.

The Russian offensive damaged residential buildings, offices and schools, leaving at least four dead and more than 80 injured, Ukrainian authorities reported.

This was the third time Russia used the Oreshnik against Ukraine since the start of the war. The missile has a range of thousands of kilometers and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

What is the Oreshnik?
The Oreshnik is a medium-range ballistic missile, with its use to date indicating a range of 965 to 1,600 kilometers. US defense officials classified it as an IRBM ("intermediate-range ballistic missile"), suggesting they believed its actual range could be more than 3,000 miles.

A distinctive feature of the Oreshnik is its ability to launch multiple warheads separate from the main missile. Up to six independently targeted multiple reentry vehicles, which can contain four to six warheads each, separate from the missile as it travels at hypersonic speeds; each can be aimed at specific targets, allowing a single ballistic missile to launch a larger-scale attack.

Where does its name come from?
Oreshnik means "Hazel", due to its appearance when its multiple warheads fall to the earth in trails of flaming light. The Ukrainians called the first missile fired "Kedr" - Cedar.

American officials have suggested that it may be an evolution, or a basic copy, of the RS-26 Rubezh missile, first developed in 2008.

Russia and the United States are in dispute over the renewal of the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty), which aims to completely ban intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) and reduce the threat from nuclear-capable missiles on the European continent. The US formally withdrew from the treaty in 2019.

Russia's first Oreshnik launch, in 2024, came days after the Biden administration authorized Kiev to fire US-supplied ATACMS missiles at Russia.

Can it be intercepted?
The Oreshnik moves faster than most modern missiles, at an estimated speed of 13,000 km/h. Its trajectory takes it to a steep rise, out of the atmosphere, and then brings it back to a steep fall, with its warheads aimed at different targets. This makes it practically indefensible by the air defense systems available in Ukraine.

This type of missile was designed to carry nuclear warheads. It's rare, expensive and dates back to the Cold War era.

The Oreshnik has only carried conventional explosives so far, but it belongs to a class of missiles whose speed and capacity reflect the nuclear threat.

It is believed the United States was notified ahead of its first use in late 2024, to ensure it was not misclassified as a nuclear launch.

Ukrainian experts from the Military Research Laboratory of the Kiev Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, who examined what they said were the remains of the first Oreshnik missile fired at Dnipro in November 2024, told CNN early last year that the missile did not appear to use many modern circuits or feature major technological advances, but was based on already known designs and elements.

(With information from Nick Paton Walsh, Tim Lister and Svitlana Vlasova of CNN and Reuters)

Source: CNN