Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke this Thursday (28) about the new Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which was recently used in an attack against Ukraine.
Putin claimed that the Oreshnik was comparable to a nuclear weapon in terms of its destructive power and would “atomize” everything at the point of impact. Even so, he stressed that he would not carry a nuclear warhead or spread radioactive contamination.
“Let me remind you once again, since you asked. Dozens of warheads, homing warheads, attack the target at a speed of 10 Machs, which is about three kilometers per second. The temperature of the impact elements reaches 4 thousand degrees”, he commented.
“If my memory serves me correctly, the temperature on the surface of the Sun is 5.5 or 6 thousand degrees. Therefore, everything that is at the epicenter of the explosion is divided into fractions, into elementary particles, essentially, transformed into dust,” he warned.
The speech took place during a meeting of the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) led by Russia in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Western security experts say the missile, like many others in Russia’s arsenal, could be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
Ukraine noted that the Oreshnik reached a top speed of 13,600 km/h, but sources reported that it carried fake warheads, not real explosives.
Understand the war between Russia and Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and entered the territory from three fronts: through the Russian border, through Crimea and through Belarus, a country that is a strong ally of the Kremlin.
Forces loyal to President Vladimir Putin made significant advances in the first few days, but the Ukrainians managed to maintain control of Kiev, even though the city was also attacked. The invasion was criticized internationally and the Kremlin was the target of Western economic sanctions.
In October 2024, after thousands of deaths, the war in Ukraine entered what analysts describe as its most dangerous moment yet.
Tensions rose when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the use of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile during an attack on Ukrainian soil. The projectile carried conventional warheads, but is capable of carrying nuclear material.
The launch took place after Ukraine launched an offensive inside Russian territory using weapons manufactured by Western powers, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
Western intelligence reports that Russia is using North Korean troops in the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang neither deny nor confirm the report.
President Vladimir Putin, who replaced his defense minister in May, has said that Russian forces are advancing much more effectively — and that Russia will achieve all of its objectives in Ukraine, although he did not elaborate.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes Putin’s main goals are to occupy the entire Donbass region, encompassing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and to expel Ukrainian troops from Russia’s Kursk region, which they have controlled parts of since August. .
