Russia said on Friday it had used its latest missiles against Ukraine for the second time in the nearly four-year war, sending a strong signal to Kyiv and its Western allies as U.S.-led peace talks enter a new critical phase.
A hypersonic Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile struck the Lviv region in western Ukraine on Thursday night. The area is close to a military base in neighboring Poland that is a key hub for shipping Western military supplies to Kiev.
Some commentators in Moscow said the attack was a warning to European leaders against proposals to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a future peace deal. Russia said it would not accept such a deployment and would regard the troops as legitimate targets.
Take a look at this weapon and why Russia is using it now:
What is known about Oreshnik
In November 2024, Russia used the multi-warhead “Oreshnik” missile for the first time in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
President Vladimir Putin said the Oreshnik, which means “hazelnut tree” in Russian, flew toward its target “like a meteorite” at 10 times the speed of sound, or Mach 10, and claimed it was not affected by any missile defense systems.
The weapon is so powerful, he said, that using a few of these missiles – even equipped with conventional warheads – could be as devastating as a nuclear strike. He said it would be able to destroy “three, four or more” underground bunkers.
The Russian military stated that the “Olesnik”-class guided missile destroyer can carry nuclear or conventional warheads and can hit any European target.
The Pentagon said the Oreshnik missile is an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Medium-range missiles have a flight range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). Washington and Moscow abandoned a Soviet-era treaty banning such weapons in 2019.
When Russia first used the Oreshnik missile, the Ukrainian military said the missile had six independently targetable warheads, each carrying six submunitions.
The submunitions released by each warhead are apparently unarmed but have high kinetic energy and are estimated to produce the destructive power equivalent to several tons of explosives, according to a Russian military blog.
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has used a host of cheap, slow-moving drones and a variety of other missiles, but none with the range and power of the Oreshnik.
Deployed to Belarus
The Russian Defense Ministry said last month that the Oreshnik had been deployed to Belarus and entered service. It did not specify how many missiles were sent to Moscow’s key ally and whether they were equipped with nuclear warheads, but Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said up to 10 Oreshnik systems would be stationed there.
Russia has previously deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and used Belarusian territory to launch an invasion of Ukraine.
In 2024, Putin issued a revised nuclear doctrine that placed Belarus under Russia’s atomic umbrella. The document significantly lowers the threshold for the possible use of nuclear weapons, declaring that any conventional attack on Russia backed by nuclear forces would be considered a joint attack on the country. The threat was apparently intended to prevent the West from allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons against Russia.
Unlike Russia’s other short-range conventional weapons, the Oreshnik is capable of launching powerful conventional strikes anywhere in Europe, giving the Kremlin a new tool to escalate situations without using its nuclear arsenal. There is no way to know whether the missile is carrying a nuclear or conventional warhead until it hits its target.
Russia sends message through Oreshnik
When Russia first used the Oreshnik missile, Putin described it as a response to Ukraine’s Western allies allowing it to use long-range weapons to attack Russian territory.
His latest attack comes as the U.S.-led effort to end the war in Ukraine enters a critical phase and appears to underscore Putin’s intention to negotiate from a position of strength as his troops slowly but steadily seize territory.
Some Russian military bloggers pointed to the attack in Lviv, not far from the Polish border, as a message to Kiev’s allies. Members of the “coalition of the willing” have proposed sending troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees after a peace deal.
Russia has said it will not accept any European troops in Ukraine and considers it a legitimate target.
“For the first time, a NATO command saw strategic weapons actually strike its borders,” said military expert Valery Shiryayev. “This action is intended to demonstrate the determination of the Russian military and political leadership to use such weapons with nuclear warheads if necessary.”
The attack came less than a week after the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, a Russian ally. Russia’s foreign ministry condemned the U.S. action as an act of aggression and harshly criticized the U.S. for seizing a Russian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday.
