Overview

• Putin said Russia has begun serial production of the Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
• The weapon has a reported range of up to 5,500 kilometers, theoretically enabling strikes across Europe and the western United States.
• Moscow claims the missile is impossible to intercept and matches the destructive power of a nuclear warhead, but US officials describe it as experimental and limited in numbers.
• The Oreshnik was first used on November 21 to hit a defense enterprise in Dnipro as retaliation for Ukraine’s use of US-made ballistic and British-made cruise missiles.
• Russia plans to station Oreshniks in allied Belarus by mid-2025, positioning the hypersonic system near NATO borders in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.