Russia recently launched its "Oreshnik" missile against Ukraine. It is dangerous because of its long range and high speed. Does it pose a real threat? What is known.
As part of the massive Russian attacks on Kiev on May 23 and 24, the small town of Bila Tserkva was hit with a special weapon - the "Oreshnik" missile. As public broadcaster ZDF notes, the town has an important military airport, but Russian media reports that the missile hit only one civilian target - caused damage to garages.
After all, the garages are near the airport, the German publication writes and comes up with the assumption that the missile was aimed there, but at least some of the ammunition clearly hit the garages, not the airport.
"Oreshnik" is used for the third time in the war
This is the third case in which Russia has used the "Oreshnik" missile against Ukraine - the first two were in November 2024 against Dnipro and in January 2026 against Lviv.
ZDF explains that the "Oreshnik" is a medium-range ballistic missile, created on the basis of the RS-26 "Rubezh" missile, which can carry nuclear warheads. "Oreshnik" is smaller, has one less rocket stage and is therefore lighter.
"Oreshnik" can carry several warheads
The main difference is that "Oreshnik" is designed to transport conventional MIRV warheads, i.e. several independently targetable aerodynamic capsules. This means that in the final phase of the flight, the warhead of the missile is divided into a certain number of smaller submunitions, which increases the chances of a direct hit and the damage caused.
Not fully combat ready
The main problem with "Oreshnik" according to German public media is that the missile is not yet fully combat ready. It is able to fly and hit targets (for now with unclear accuracy), but conventional ammunition for its warhead has not yet been produced. This is also the reason why no explosions have been observed after the hits in Ukraine.
When the production process is completed, "Oreshnik" will have a warhead that will be divided into six smaller parts, each of which will contain submunitions. But since these are not yet available, Russia is replacing them with six inactive blocks that correspond in size, shape and weight to the smaller explosive warheads that have not yet been produced.
Range and speed make "Oreshnik" dangerous
Among the factors that make the missile dangerous, ZDF puts the range in first place - between 4,000 and 5,000 kilometers, i.e. "Oreshnik" can hit targets throughout Europe if launched from inside Russia. The current strike was launched from the Kapustin Yar test site in the Astrakhan region, about 1,100 km from Bila Tserkva.
Secondly, the "Oreshnik" flies at a very high speed - more than ten times the speed of sound. Therefore, in the final phase of the flight, even the kinetic energy of the missile, which arises from its speed, gives it enormous destructive power, although it flies only with inactive warheads.
Serial production is not planned for now
The Kremlin is trying to present the "Oreshnik" as a kind of superweapon - which can change the course of the war and pose a serious threat to all of Europe. In reality, however, at the current stage of its development, the "Oreshnik" is nothing more than an unfinished experimental missile, available only in very limited quantities, and without functioning warheads, the German public media outlet points out.
Analysis of the two previous cases of its use shows that the missile was literally handmade and assembled from parts of other, older missile systems. Its internal construction is therefore quite primitive, and it does not have a real warhead.
ZDF summarizes that, as a whole, the propaganda value of the missile is much higher than its real military capacity.