Putin explains why Oreshnik was developed

The successful development of the Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic missile is a landmark achievement both for Russia and the space industry as a whole, President Vladimir Putin has said, adding that he personally ordered its deployment under real conditions.

In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the first use of the Oreshnik missile against a Ukrainian military industrial facility as “not the highlight of the year,” but rather “a historic milestone for the rocket and space industry.”

“Nothing like this has ever happened before. This is the first of its kind when it comes to this type of weapon,” he stressed.

The president admitted that he had a fairly deep understanding of the development process. “There were different opinions about [the missile] in the Defense Ministry. In the end, I supported those who believed that [the Oreshnik] must be produced and gave a direct order to do so, and allocate the necessary resources. I also agreed with those who insisted that it should be tested under combat conditions.”

Moscow used the Oreshnik missile, which previously was held in secret, to strike a Ukrainian arms plant in Dnepr (known as Dnipro in Ukraine) last month, with the strike causing a firestorm in both Western and domestic media. The attack came in response to Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia using foreign-made long-range weapons, something Moscow had repeatedly strongly warned against.

According to Russian officials, the missile is designed to fly at speeds of up to Mach 10 (around 7,600 miles/12,200km per hour), which is roughly ten times the speed of sound. Putin has said that the Oreshnik missile is almost impossible to intercept, even by modern Western-made air defense systems.

Earlier this week, he also pushed back against speculation that the missile could easily be shot down, challenging Western leaders to a “technological duel” and daring them to deploy their air defense systems in Kiev to fend off a wave of Oreshnik strikes.