Moscow: Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during an attack on Ukraine, marking the first use of such powerful, nuclear-capable weapon amid the ongoing war between the two nations, Reuters reported quoting the Ukrainian Air Force.
‘Oreshnik’ means Hazelnut Tree
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the missile is named ‘Oreshnik,’ which in Russian means ‘hazelnut tree,’ and the launch at Ukraine is the first combat test of it that ‘has gone successfully.’
Highly Difficult to Intercept, Speed of 12,300 km/h
The Oreshnik is a hypersonic missile, capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 10 (12,300 km/h or 7,610 mph). The missile is designed to be highly difficult to intercept and can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads.
Intermediate-range missiles, or IRBMs, can fly between 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). Ukrainian military officials said the missile was launched from the Russian region of Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea, 800 kilometers (500 miles) to the east.
While Russia has launched cruise missiles at Ukraine from even longer ranges, the new intermediate range missile marked the first such use of this kind of ground-launched ballistic missile, which can carry a much heavier conventional payload and could also be fitted with multiple nuclear warheads.
‘No Countermeasures’: Putin
Russian President Putin has claimed that there are currently no countermeasures for the Oreshnik missile, making it a significant addition to Russia’s military arsenal.
Putin boasted that the missile, the latest in Russia’s arsenal of hypersonic weapons, reaches its target at speeds of Mach 10, rendering Western missile defenses useless.
He said the missile was capable of releasing multiple warheads at extremely high speeds, even though they are less accurate than cruise missiles or short-range ballistic missiles.
Video of the strike showed six fiery trails followed by powerful explosions -– an apparent sign of the multiple warheads being used. The authenticity of the videos couldn’t be independently confirmed.
With inputs from AP
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