On January 9, the Russian military said it had launched the Oreshnik hypersonic missile aimed at a target in Ukraine, within the framework of a large-scale overnight attack targeting energy facilities and unmanned aerial vehicle production sites. This information was released by the Russian Ministry of Defense in an official statement.
According to Russia, the attack is a response to a drone attack that Ukraine is accused of targeting President Vladimir Putin's residence in the Russian Novgorod region at the end of December. Moscow believes this is the reason for the decision to use a weapon described as having superior speed and destructive power.
Kiev has rejected this accusation, calling the statement from Russia "fake", and denied any attacks on Mr. Vladimir Putin's residence. The controversy surrounding the cause of the attack continues to increase information tensions between the two sides.
Previously, the Governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine said that the Russian attack hit an infrastructure target. Some information spread on social networks, unverified, suggested that the target was a large-scale underground gas storage facility. Reuters said it was not possible to verify this information independently.
Ukrainian media quoted the country's Air Force as saying that Russia used a ballistic missile in the attack, with a flight speed of nearly 13,000 km/h. This is a detail that raises speculation about Oreshnik continuing to be deployed in the context of complicated fighting.
Moscow first launched the Oreshnik missile, meaning "thief" in Russian, into Ukraine in November 2024, claiming to have hit a military factory. At that time, sources from Ukraine said that the missile was carrying a fake warhead, not containing explosives, so it caused limited damage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin once affirmed that Oreshnik is a medium-range missile that cannot be intercepted because the speed is said to exceed 10 times the speed of sound. He said its destructive power, even when equipped with conventional warheads, can be compared to nuclear weapons.
Some Western officials expressed skepticism about the true capabilities of Oreshnik. A US official at the end of 2024 said that this weapon is not considered a factor that could change the situation on the battlefield.
