What is Oreshnik, Russia's Nuclear-Capable Missile Used On Ukraine?
What is Oreshnik, Russia's Nuclear-Capable Missile Used On Ukraine? Published By, Last Updated: May 24, 2026, 21:08 IST Russia confirms using nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile
What is Oreshnik, Russia's Nuclear-Capable Missile Used On Ukraine? Published By, Last Updated: May 24, 2026, 21:08 IST Russia confirms using nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile in a major strike on Ukraine, killing four, EU’s Kaja Kallas condemns it as reckless nuclear brinkmanship. Russian missiles, which appear to be the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, fly during a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv. (Image: Reuters) Russia has confirmed it used a nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile, that killed four people and left dozens injured, during a large overnight assault on Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said the barrage was carried out in response to what it called Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure inside Russian territory.
Moscow said it used Oreshnik ballistic missiles along with Iskander, Kinzhal and Tsirkon missile systems during the operation. Calling the reported use of the Oreshnik missile a “political scare tactic", European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that deploying weapons designed to carry nuclear warheads amounted to “reckless nuclear brinkmanship". What is Oreshnik hypersonic missile? The Oreshnik hypersonic missile is an intermediate-range that Russia claims is able to target across Europe and evade modern air defence systems. According to Euro News, Russia classifies the Oreshnik, whose name comes from the Russian word for “hazel tree," as an intermediate-range ballistic missile, meaning it can hit targets between 3,000 and 5,500 kilometres away. For the first time, the usage of this missile was known on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in 2024.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had termed Oreshnik as a “state-of-the-art" weapon that is able to carry multiple warheads and travel at hypersonic speeds. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko had acknowledge that the missile has been deployed in their country as well. Can it carry nuclear warheads? Euro News quoted Russian officials saying that the missile is nuclear-capable, although the first known strike in Ukraine appeared to use non-nuclear or dummy warheads. Putin said that the missile’s impact generates extreme heat and can even destroy deeply protected targets. As per Kremlin, Oreshnik travels at around Mach 10, or roughly 10 times the speed of sound. They claimed that it is almost impossible for current air defence systems to intercept.
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