What to Know About Russia’s New Nuclear-Capable Hypersonic Missile
Russia’s use of a new nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missile in Ukraine is not only escalating the war but lobbing an unmistakable threat at Europe and the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is renewing threats that he is prepared to use nuclear weapons and can strike into Europe with the launch of a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile in his ongoing war against Ukraine.
Putin said the new missile, which had not been used during Russia’s more than 2-year-old war, was launched in response to Kyiv’s recent use of longer-range American- and British-made weapons in strikes that reached deeper into Russian territory.
Here are some key things to know about the attack, the weapon and how the West is responding.
What Is Known About the Attack?
Ukraine’s air force said Thursday in a post on the unencrypted messaging service Telegram that a ballistic missile hit Dnipro, a central Ukrainian city of about 1 million residents. It said the missile was launched from the Astrakhan region in southeastern Russia located more than 770 miles away.
Ukrainian officials said the missile and other rockets damaged an industrial facility, a rehabilitation facility and residential buildings. Regional authorities said three people were injured in the attack.
Ukrainian intelligence says the missile at peak speed was traveling Mach 11, or more than 8,000 miles per hour.
Putin characterized the strike as a “test” of the new weapon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “an obvious and serious increase in the scale and brutality of this war.”
Why Now?
Russia’s use of the weapon comes amid intense fighting between the two sides and after the U.S. authorized Ukraine to use sophisticated weapons to strike targets located further inside Russian territory.
President Joe Biden reversed his ban on Kyiv using high-precision Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to strike deeper inside Russia after revelations that Moscow escalated the conflict by deploying North Korean troops. Some 10,000 troops from North Korea are now believed to be fighting on behalf of Russia.
Russia said six U.S.-made ATACMS were launched toward them on Tuesday, and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles and U.S.-made HIMARS, for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, were fired on Thursday. In response, Russia said it makes the Western countries direct participants in the ongoing conflict.
What Is the Oreshnik?
The new missile called Oreshnik, which means hazel tree in Russian, used a conventional rather than a nuclear warhead but is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The Pentagon said it is based on Russia’s longer-range ICBM called the RS-26 Rubezh.
It is a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that officials said was experimental, and it is believed that Russia only possesses a few.
The hypersonic missiles can change direction mid-flight, making them extremely difficult to track and intercept with air defenses. It is believed to have a theoretical range of below 3,420 miles, meaning it could reach past Ukraine and into Europe from where it was launched.
What Has Putin Said?
Putin left no doubt that, while Ukraine was the target, the strike was intended for a much wider audience. He acknowledged in a rare television address to the nation that Russia had struck a Ukrainian military facility with the new weapon and said it was in “response to U.S. plans to produce and deploy intermediate and short-range missiles” and that Russia would “respond decisively and symmetrically” if Ukraine responds and escalates.
“The regional conflict in Ukraine, previously provoked by the West, has acquired elements of a global character,” said Putin. “We are developing intermediate- and shorter-range missiles as a response to U.S. plans to produce and deploy intermediate- and shorter-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.”
He blasted what he called a mistake by the U.S. for “unilaterally destroying the treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles in 2019 under a far-fetched pretext,” referring to a 1987 treaty with Russia that the U.S. withdrew from in 2019.
Why Is the West Concerned?
Putin has frequently hinted at Russia’s nuclear capability and used the threat of employing one on the battlefield to throw off Western countries arming and supporting Ukraine.
The Oreshnik’s nuclear capability is renewing those fears despite it being fired with a conventional warhead, as the Pentagon warns it could be modified if needed.
“It could be refitted to certainly carry different types of conventional or nuclear warheads,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
Russia recently updated its nuclear doctrine, lowering the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a wide range of conventional attacks. The doctrine dictates that any attack by a non-nuclear power supported by a nuclear power would be considered a joint attack. It also says any attack by one member of a military bloc would be considered an attack by the entire alliance.
Former Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward detailed in his recent book “War” that the U.S. had intelligence pointing to “highly sensitive, credible conversations inside the Kremlin” that Putin was seriously considering nuclear weapons and scrambled at the last minute to deter it.
NATO will now hold an emergency meeting with Ukraine at its headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the situation. The alliance confirmed that at Kyiv’s request, the NATO Ukraine Council will convene.
