Why Russia struck Ukraine with “Oreshnik”: British intelligence gives reason
29 November 16:12
British intelligence officials are convinced that Russia launched the Oreshnik missile in Ukraine to send a strategic message to Western countries. This is reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the daily review of the UK Ministry of Defense.
The article says that on November 21, 2024, Russia struck a Ukrainian ammunition plant in Dnipro, using an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) codenamed “Oreshnik” for the first time in history. According to the classification, the maximum range of an intermediate-range ballistic missile is 3,000 to 5,500 km. In this case, the missile flew just over 800 km to its target.
In February 2019, Russia announced its withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which banned the development and production of ICBMs. However, the development of Oreshnik almost certainly took place before that. The system is most likely a variant of the Rubizh RS-26 ballistic missile, which was first tested in 2011.
The missile’s payload consisted of six groups of six warheads, for a total of 36 subwarheads. These warheads travel at hypersonic speeds before impact, which is typical for missiles of this class.
The UK believes that the use of this experimental system was intended as a message after Ukraine used Western missiles against Russia.
“Russia most likely has only a few Oreshnik missiles that have not yet entered mass production. This missile will be much more expensive than other missiles that Russia is currently using against Ukraine,” British intelligence said.
