Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country’s new intermediate-range ballistic missile, a nuclear-capable weapon, will continue to be tested, including in combat conditions, as Moscow struck several Ukrainian regions with other, less powerful weapons.
“We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats that are created for Russia,” Putin said on November 22 at a meeting with Defense Ministry officials and military-industrial complex officials.
The Kremlin leader also called for serial production of the large missile to begin.
Russia launched the so-called Oreshnik ballistic missile against Ukraine on November 21 in a strike targeting the city of Dnipro. Putin said at the time it was part of Moscow’s response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil with U.S.-supplied ATACMS and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
The use of the Oreshnik “is first and foremost a messaging and saber rattling kind of weapon. This is the sort of delivery system that’s not cheap. It’s not a battlefield sort of weapon,” Tom Karako, a missile defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told RFE/RL.
Putin added on November 22 that the Oreshnik is new and not an upgrade of previous Soviet-designed weaponry. The United States said the new missile is “experimental” and based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Ukraine initially accused Russia of having used an ICBM in the Dnipro attack. An ICBM has never been used in a war.
Strategic Weapons
Russia has been striking Ukraine with Iskanders, ground-launched, short-range ballistic missiles, and Kinzhals, air-launched, intermediate-range ballistic missiles, as well as various cruise missiles.
Russia probably only has several units of the Oreshnik in stock, a U.S. official told media following the November 21 strike. Ukraine’s military intelligence put the figure at up to 10 units.
If Russia were to move forward with serial production of the Oreshnik, it would be for its nuclear force posture and not for use in a conventional war like the one with Ukraine, Karako said.
“This is not an alternative to a cruise missile. It’s probably designed for strategic weapons,” he said.
Zelenskiy’s Response
In his November 21 address to the nation announcing the use of the Oreshnik, Putin said that the missile traveled at a speed of Mach 10, or 2.5-3 kilometers per second, claiming that “there are currently no ways of counteracting this weapon.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 22 that Ukraine was working on developing new types of air defenses to counter “new risks,” a reference to missiles like the Oreshnik.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said testing a new weapon for the purposes of terror in another country was an “international crime” and called for a worldwide “serious response” to keep Russia from expanding the war.
“When someone starts using other countries not only for terror, but also for testing their new missiles through acts of terror, then this is clearly an international crime.”
A lack of air defenses has been one of Ukraine’s major weak spots in the 33-month war with Ukraine. Zelenskiy has called on the West to deliver more air defense systems since the first days of the invasion.
He had also called on the West to ease restrictions preventing Ukraine from striking inside Russia with powerful long-range weapons. Zelenskiy said the deep strikes were necessary to target airfields critical for Russia’s daily aerial attacks.
The United States and the United Kingdom reportedly lifted the restrictions on November 17 with Ukraine using their long-range weapons — ATACMS and Storm Shadow respectively — to hit targets in Russia’s regions of Belgorod and Kursk. Putin launched the Oreshnik into Ukraine to warn the West against arming Ukraine.
Parliament Session Canceled
Russia did not use the Oreshnik to strike Ukraine during another deadly air attack on November 22.
Two people were killed and 12 wounded in Russian strikes on Sumy, Artem Kobzar, the mayor of the northeastern Ukrainian city, reported in a video statement on Telegram.
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The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian drone attacks were under way in four regions — Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Zhytomyr.
In the capital, which has been on edge for several days amid intense Russian attacks on Ukraine, lawmakers were advised to avoid the government district on November 22 and parliament canceled a scheduled session due to warnings of a potential missile strike.
“We were informed about the risk of a missile strike on the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv in the coming days. Putin has significantly raised the stakes. Tomorrow’s parliamentary session is canceled,” lawmaker Taras Batenko said.
Oleksiy Honcharenko, another lawmaker, said on Telegram that the next session was now planned for December, although parliament leaders have not officially commented on the warnings.
Zelenskiy’s office assured the public that the presidential administration would continue operating “as usual” on November 22.
