This Tuesday, Russia published a video of what it claimed was the deployment of its hypersonic missile system, with nuclear capability, in , one of the Kremlin’s closest allies. The measure seeks to strengthen Moscow’s ability to attack targets throughout Europe in the scenario of war.
The state news agency TASS has stated that this is the first time that the Russian Ministry of Defense displays the Oreshnik missile systems. He has assured that it is a projectile that is impossible to intercept because it is capable of traveling ten times faster than the speed of sound. The Russian president has also previously stated that its destructive power is comparable to that of a nuclear weapon. Some US specialists and senior commanders, however, have questioned the capabilities that the Kremlin attributes to the missile system.
Moscow’s announcement that the missiles have entered active service in a country bordering Ukraine and three members of it — Poland, Lithuania and Latvia — comes at a time of growing tensions with Europe due to the Kremlin’s unwillingness to sit at the negotiating table with Volodymyr Zelensky’s government. The deployment of the Orésnhik in Belarus would allow Russia’s nuclear missiles to reach their targets in Europe more quickly in the event of entering into an armed conflict.
This Monday, Moscow accused kyiv of launching a drone attack against one of Putin’s residences in the Novgorod region, warned of retaliation and . Zelensky called the accusations “completely false” and an “excuse” to continue the war.
Some specialists in the West interpret the presentation of the weapon as part of a strategy to deter NATO members from supplying weapons to Ukrainian forces. Two American experts have told Reuters after analyzing satellite images that it is possible that Oreshnik missiles are deployed in eastern Belarus. The video released by the Russian authorities does not specify the location of the missile system.
However, the images showed mobile launchers and their crews traveling along forest roads, while specialized troops camouflaged the systems with nets. A senior Russian officer informed the troops that the systems had been officially put into combat service and, as a light snow fell in the background, discussed the usual training and reconnaissance routines of the missile crews.
Moscow has already tested an Oreshnik, although without carrying a nuclear warhead, against a target in Ukraine in November 2024. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed on December 18 that the missile system had been deployed on its territory after being sent from Russia. Lukashenko then said that the projectiles were already “in service” to respond to the threats and “aggressions” of his Western adversaries.
