Defense Express: Most of Ukraine is beyond the range of Oreshnik from Belarus

Most of Ukraine, including Kyiv, is beyond the range of a Russian Oreshnik ballistic missile if it is deployed in Belarus. This was reported by portal Defense Express.

The analysts pointed out that after the announcement of the deployment of Oreshnik in Belarus, information appeared in the information space that the missile would allegedly take only 1 minute 41 seconds to reach Kyiv, 1 minute 44 seconds to reach Lutsk, 2 minutes 24 seconds to reach Lviv, 1 minute 4 seconds to reach Vilnius, and 2 minutes 23 seconds to reach Warsaw.

The portal denied this information. According to analysts, these figures were obtained by dividing the distance to cities by the declared speed of 12,300 km/h, but without any understanding of how the ballistic missile actually flies.

Defense Express explained that the Oreshnik is a ballistic missile. It follows a steep ballistic trajectory, not a straight line. Moreover, its maximum speed is reached only for a very short moment, after a long acceleration, and after that it generally moves by inertia. That is, dividing the distance between the point of launch and impact by the maximum speed is a mistake.

The analysts stated that the listed cities, including Kyiv and most of Ukraine, are beyond the range of the Oreshnik. They explained this by saying that this two-stage, solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile, like other similar missiles, has not only a maximum range but also a minimum range.

The portal reminded that the parameters of the Oreshnik are known, as they were publicly announced by representatives of the Ukrainian special services at a briefing in October. The missile has a minimum range of 700 km and a maximum range of 5,500 km. Analysts showed the approximate range of the Oreshnik on a map.

The portal writes that Oreshnik cannot hit Kyiv from the territory of Belarus at all, because the farthest point of this country from the Ukrainian capital is 660 km away.

• In November 2024, the occupiers used the Oreshnik to strike at the Dnipro, launching a missile from the Astrakhan region.
• In July 2025, Ukrainian intelligence reported LIGA.net that no confirmed data the information that the occupiers tried to use the Oreshnik against Ukraine after the attack on the Dnipro River was not available, nor was there any information about further exercises and tests of this weapon.
• Lukashenko says that Oreshnik has been in Belarus since December 17 and is on combat duty. Zelenskyy criticized the partners for the absence of sanctions against the missile manufacturers.