Russia fired a new type of missile at Ukraine. It’s fast, can carry nukes, and could hit far into Europe.

Firefighters at the site of a Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on November 21, 2024.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said his military had fired a new type of missile at Ukraine, describing it as a test and also a warning to the West.

Putin called the missile the “Oreshnik” and said it had a “non-nuclear hypersonic warhead” and had hit a military-industrial site in Ukraine’s eastern city of Dnipro.

He also said it was capable of traveling at Mach 10 — ten times the speed of sound.

The missile, described by the US as experimental, appears to have the range to hit targets elsewhere in Europe.

Here’s what we know about the missile and what it could mean for the war and the West.

An experimental missile

Putin said the “Oreshnik” missile can’t be stopped, though he and Russian officials have made similar claims in the past about other weaponry that proved anything but infallible.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh called the missile “experimental” as it was the first time it had been seen deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine.

She said it was an intermediate-range ballistic missile based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh model, and that it had a non-nuclear payload but could be refitted to carry different types of “conventional or nuclear warheads.”

Some military analysts contest the RS-26’s classification as an intercontinental ballistic missile, arguing it falls between an ICBM and an intermediate-range missile. As B-17 previously reported, an ICBM has never been used in combat.

Missile experts said the “Oreshnik” appeared to have a MIRV, or multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle, payload, which can carry multiple warheads.

Firefighters at the site of a Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, November 21, 2024.

A larger range

The missile’s possible range is important. According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, medium-range missiles can travel up to 1,860 miles, while intermediate-range missiles can travel up to 3,410 miles.

The RS-26 has a range of up to 3,728 miles, The Financial Times reported.

Matthew Savill of the UK’s Royal United Services Institute told the Associated Press the range was “way beyond any of that seen in the conflict so far and possibly the first ever use in combat.”

Meanwhile, former Australian Army Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan described the attack as “a political strike not a military one” but wrote on X that an intermediate-range missile could “be used against almost any target in Europe and the United Kingdom.”

The first missile attack, however, was minimal. The local mayor said it had damaged a rehabilitation center, knocking out the windows and destroying a boiler room.

A threat to the West

It’s not clear how much of an escalation this latest strike represents in practical terms.

An unnamed US official told the BBC that Russia likely only has a handful of these missiles. And they said Ukraine had already faced significant missile attacks, including ones with much bigger warheads than this.

Ukrainian soldiers firing mortars from trench positions.

Jakub Janda, director of the European Values Center for Security Policy, told B-17 that the move was Russia’s attempt to intimidate the West into not giving Ukraine more support at a “critical” time.

“From the Russian side, this is just a cognitive warfare move,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, wrote on X that “using these kinds of missiles, whether RS-26 or a true ICBM, in a conventional role does not make a lot of sense because of their relatively low-accuracy and high cost.”

“But this kind of a strike might have a value as a signal.”

A nuclear hint

Putin described the strike as a response to Ukraine using US and UK-provided missiles on Russian soil this week.

He said​​ Russia “had the right” to strike countries that gave Ukraine weapons that hit Russia.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it “a clear and severe escalation” and called for worldwide condemnation.

“Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in September 2024. 

At the same time, the strike may have been intended to hint at a nuclear threat.

Fabian Hoffmann from the Oslo Nuclear Project told Reuters that Russia chose a missile with a MIRV payload “for signaling purposes” because “this payload is exclusively associated with nuclear-capable missiles.”

Ryan, the former Australian officer, said Putin wanted to send a message to Europe about Russia’s capacity, and to signal to the US ahead of the presidential transition that it should not give Ukraine advanced capabilities.

But in a statement to B-17, NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said Russia’s strike “will neither change the course of the conflict nor deter NATO allies from supporting Ukraine.”