There was only one launch of Oreshnik in Ukraine – HUR

There is no confirmed evidence that Russia attempted to attack Ukraine with an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile after the November 2024 strike on the Dnipro River. This was stated by the head of one of the military intelligence directorates, Andriy Yusov, in response to a request from LIGA.net.

"There is no confirmed information about other attempts [after November 21, 2024] by the enemy to use the Oreshnik multiple-launcher on the territory of Ukraine," he said.

There is also no confirmed data on further exercises and tests of these weapons, Yusov noted.

The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) officer also explained that the occupiers used the Oreshnik to strike at the Dnipro River to put pressure on Ukraine and its partners.

The repeated use of such weapons in Ukraine will depend on the decision of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, the intelligence representative said.

He confirmed that the Oreshnik is an experimental version of the intercontinental ballistic missile RS-26 Rubezh and was not mass-produced. As for other characteristics, Yusov cited the following data: range up to 5,500 kilometers (the occupiers claimed 6,000 km), speed – more than 5 strokes or 6,000 km/h (the HUR previously reported that the speed was 11 strokes – more than 13,400 km/h on the final section of the trajectory).

• Information about the possible reuse of the Oreshnik appeared in December and February. In the last month of 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense announced such a threat, and the HUR responded by noting that "anything can be expected from the Russians" and urged not to ignore the danger.
• That month, the airspace over the Kapustin Yar training ground, from where Oreshnik was launched along the Dnipro River, was blocked twice. At the same time, Russian dictator Putin also threatened to use this weapon, after which President Zelensky swore foully at him.
• Two months later, the Center for Countering Disinformation refuted the data circulating on the Internet that Russia had launched an Oreshnik to attack Ukraine, but it fell and exploded on the territory of the occupiers. In May, the occupiers again blocked the airspace over Kapustin Yar for three days.
• In June, Zelenskyy reported that most Russian companies involved in the production of Oreshnik are still not under sanctions and announced that Ukraine and partners would fix this.