What we know about the Russian Oreshnik missile strike on Ukraine

Quang Pham
·1-min read
This is a video showing the Russian Oreshnik missile strike on the town of Dnipro, Ukraine on November 21, 2024.

Russia fired an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile that hit a factory in Dnipro, a town in eastern Ukraine, on November 21. Photos and videos document the damage caused by the missile. While the Kremlin claimed the missile is new and “experimental”, the Pentagon and other experts said that the missile could be a variation on existing ballistic missiles.

After a Russian missile hit a factory in Dnipro, Ukraine on November 21, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky posted a message on X claiming the strike was from an intercontinental ballistic missile. The use of a missile generally reserved for dropping nuclear warheads was interpreted as a threat from Russia and an escalation in the conflict.

However, experts immediately raised questions about the weapon used to carry out this strike – was it really an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), as Kyiv had claimed, or was it actually an intermediate-range missile? Intercontinental ballistic missiles have a range greater than 5,500 km while intermediate-range missiles have a range between 3,000 km and 5,500 km.

Read moreWhat we know about the new hypersonic Oreshnik missile Russia used against Ukraine

Videos of the missile strike posted on social media show six clusters of impact. This would indicate the missile was carrying multiple warheads.

"This is likely as some experts think that the Oreshnik missile is really a version of the RS-26 with a new name," he added.


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