Overview
- Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said the Russian Oreshnik system arrived on Wednesday and has been placed on combat duty, without disclosing how many launchers or missiles were deployed.
- One day earlier, Vladimir Putin said Oreshnik would be on combat duty by year-end, with Russian officials noting that serial production has begun and the first serial system was delivered to troops in 2025.
- Russian sources describe Oreshnik as a hypersonic, medium‑range ballistic missile reportedly capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads with ranges up to 5,500 kilometers, claims that outside experts view skeptically.
- Kremlin-linked outlets highlight flight-time estimates of 11 to 17 minutes to key European targets and analysts say basing in Belarus shortens strike distances to NATO states and Ukraine.
- Russia first used an Oreshnik-type missile in a November 2024 strike on Dnipro that Moscow framed as combat testing, while Ukrainian and U.S. accounts linked the weapon to a system derived from the RS-26 Rubezh.