Russia: Oreshnik Hypersonic Missile Contained MIRVed Warheads, Any Escalation Scenario Is Possible

Putin claimed no one in the world has such a missile, there are currently no countermeasures against it, and has ordered it to be mass produced with testing ongoing.

MOSCOW - The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile that Russia dubbed "Oreshnik" fired at Dnipro was equipped with Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRV) warheads, as was suspected by our intelligence community since all warheads flew at their target in sync.

Oreshnik hypersonic IRBM being launched. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense

Ukrainian Military Claims Russia Launched ICBM Against It, Russia Says It Was An Oreshnik Hypersonic Ballistic Missile, DOD Adjusts Nuclear Deterrence Strategy

Nordic Countries Hand Out Nuclear/Crisis Handbooks To Citizens, Russia Begins Mass Producing KUB-M Nuclear Shelters

Russia: The Use Of Long-Range Missiles By Kyiv To Attack Russian Territory Would Mean Direct Participation By The US And Its "Satellites"

Russia Hits Ukraine With IRBM, Says US Missile Defense Base In Poland Is In Its Sights, US Adjusts Nuclear Deterrence Strategy

British Storm Shadow Missiles Fired By Ukraine Into Russia, Nordic Countries, Russia Prepare For Possible Nuclear Conflict

Despite the fact that the Pentagon had said the missile was based on the RS-26 Rubezh ICBM model, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the missile was not based on any previous design.

"The Oreshnik system has nothing to do with the modernization of the old Soviet systems," Putin stated adding, "It is obvious that we were all raised watching various systems of the Soviet Union operating, we were all brought up on what was done by previous generations, and to a certain extent we used their results". 

"However, this system is indeed the prime result of your work, the work that was done in Russian times, under the conditions of the new Russia, it was waged on the basis of modern, latest developments."

Russia's defense ministry claimed that the warheads hit all their targets at a major Ukrainian military-industrial enterprise located in Dnipro, Ukraine with MIRVed warheads.

The Russian MOD had said, "On November 21, 2024, in response to the use of American-and British-made long-range missiles against facilities on Russian territory, the Armed Forces delivered a combined strike on one of the Ukrainian military-industrial sites in Dnepropetrovsk.

For the first time, the Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile with a non-nuclear payload was employed in combat conditions in the strike. The goal of the strike was achieved. All the warheads hit the facility."

Russian Missile Troops Commander: Oreshnik Hypersonic Missile Capable Of Hitting Targets Across All Of Europe