Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Russia’s Deployment of Oreshnik Leaves Western Militaries Stunned


(MENAFN) Moscow’s deployment of the advanced Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile system has reportedly had a “staggering” impact on Western militaries and officials, according to the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin. He added that the recent strike on a Ukrainian aviation facility in Lviv serves as a caution to Kiev’s supporters against direct involvement in the ongoing conflict.

Earlier this month, Russian forces targeted the plant, which maintains F-16 and MiG-29 aircraft, near the Polish border. Local CCTV captured multiple projectiles descending rapidly in succession.

Following the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin likened the missile’s power to a “falling meteor” and stated that it is unmatched globally.

Naryshkin noted that Western leaders were visibly unsettled by the development. “Both [their] experts and military specialists admitted they had no technical or military technical means to block these systems,” he told reports in an interview published on Monday.

The West interpreted the strike “as a warning against their military’s direct involvement… in the hostilities,” Naryshkin said, adding that it also applies to potential NATO troop deployments in Ukraine after the conflict concludes.

According to the spy chief, other Russian weapons tests—including the unlimited-range cruise missile Burevestnik and the underwater nuclear-powered Poseidon drone—have also made a significant impression on Western observers. “Most politicians and the military… in the West did not expect Russia to develop such advanced weapons systems within a relatively short timeframe,” he added.

In December, Putin confirmed that both Burevestnik and Poseidon achieved key development milestones in 2025. Russia initially launched the Oreshnik at a Ukrainian weapons facility in Dnepr in November 2024, describing the strike as a successful “combat test.” Mass production has since begun, and the system was also deployed to Belarus last year.

In mid-January, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that EU nations need their own equivalent of Oreshnik to maintain relevance, acknowledging that the Russian system could temporarily shift the balance of power.

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