What is special about Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic missile?

Referring to Oreshnik publicly for the first time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was a medium-range ballistic missile with a warhead that exceeded the speed of sound. The speed reached 2-3 km/s. Guaranteed to overcome all air defense and missile defense systems.

Based on video of the Russian nighttime raid on a Ukrainian ammunition depot published online, it appears that the Oreshnik is equipped with multiple individually targetable warheads.
The Oreshnik's average operational range is from 1,000 to 5,500 km. For example, the Soviet RSD-10 Pioneer land-based mobile missile systems, and the promising RS-26 Rubezh – which is not included in the state armament program until 2027, due to the development of the Avangard hypersonic missile program.

The highly maneuverable warhead of the RS-26 Rubezh flies at a speed of 6.7 km/s and continuously changes trajectory during its journey, making it impossible to intercept by air defense/missile defense systems such as the US Patriot, as this complex is only capable of hitting targets at a speed of 3.5 km/s.

According to RIA Novosti, it can be assumed that the standard combat load of the Oreshnik is 6 warheads. The attack is carried out with inert warheads. When hitting the target, the kinetic energy of the Oreshnik is enough to cause serious damage because the warhead enters the atmosphere at hypersonic speed. However, it is possible that the missile with a penetrating warhead was used to destroy the enemy's underground communication systems.

The existence of the Oreshnik was announced by President Putin himself. In 2018, Putin unveiled the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile, the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Poseidon long-range underwater drone and the Avangard hypersonic complex. And the Russian leader also stressed that such weapons cannot be intercepted.

There is no “recipe” against the Oreshnik. The missile hits targets at a speed of Mach 10 (the equivalent of 2.5-3 km/s mentioned by the Russian President). Modern air defense systems and US missile defense systems located in Europe “cannot intercept such missiles”.

President Putin said Russia's retaliatory attack on one of the "largest and most famous industrial complexes since the Soviet era", where Ukraine even today produces missile technology and other weapons, was a test of Moscow's new weapons.

The target mentioned by the Russian leader could be one of the pillars of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex - the Yuzhmash plant in Dnepropetrovsk. Here, the Ukrainian authorities are trying to implement their own ballistic missile program.

President Putin stressed that the Oreshnik system is being tested in combat conditions in response to aggressive actions by NATO countries against Russia.

“We will identify targets to destroy during further testing of our latest missile systems based on threats to the security of the Russian Federation,” he said.

President Putin added that Russia will actively invite civilians in Ukraine and citizens of other friendly countries to leave the area of ​​possible destruction, when Russia launches an attack with systems such as Oreshnik. Mr. Putin stressed that for humanitarian reasons, this will be done openly and without fear of Kiev's objection.

Responding to Russia's move, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Ukraine's "respected partners" for their failure to respond to Russia's retaliatory strike with the Oreshnik hypersonic missile.

“The world must react to this. There is no strong reaction from the world now… Putin is testing you, dear partners… If there is no strong reaction to Russia’s actions, they will think it is easy to respond,” President Zelensky said on his Telegram channel.

Meanwhile, under the post of Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on social network X, many people of Western countries left comments and apologized to Russia for the actions of their leaders, after Russia launched the attack with Oreshnik missiles.

“On behalf of the UK, we do not want war with you. We apologise on behalf of our government for not representing the vast majority of the British public,” wrote Alex Barnicoat.

American users also criticized the current US government, complaining that they are doing everything possible to provoke Russia into using nuclear weapons.