Oreshnik

Oreshnik strike on Yuzhmash, November 21, 2024.

The Oreshnik (hazelnut tree) is a high-precision medium-range hypersonic missile with both nuclear and non-nuclear MaRV (maneuverable reentry vehicle) capabilities delivering 36 warheads. It is believed the reentry vehicles have their own guidance and propulsion system. Oreshnik fly's at speeds of up to Mach 10 (around 7,600 miles/12,200km per hour/3 km per sec.), or ten times the speed of sound. The high velocity makes it virtually impossible to intercept by the most advanced NATO missile defense systems. The missile hits its target at a temperature of 4000 Celsius, turning everything into dust. The weapon produces nuclear-scale destruction without being nuclear, providing long term radioactive damage to the environment. Former National Security Advisor in the First Trump Administration H.R. McMaster statedL

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Probability models show that the THAAD and AEGIS systems are not capable of effectively countering the Oreshnik, and systems that can reliably shoot down the missile will not appear in US service in the next 15 years.

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As of 2024, there are no means of counteracting Oreshnik-type complexes in the world.

According to Military Watch magazine, Russia is capable of producing 25 Oreshnik missiles per month.

The Oreshnik missile was first deployed in combat on November 21, 2024, when it struck the Yuzhmash industrial complex occupied by NATO in the city of Dnepropetrovsk. The target was a key defense site inherited by Ukraine from the USSR that produced missile equipment.

The Yuzhmash site

According to available information, the first responders found something unusual about the bombing site. Besides the ruins, rubble, and debris everywhere, what leaked from Ukrainian internal communications was that they observed something described as "small volcanoes filled with glowing material." Ukrainian SBU immediately cordoned off the whole area, and access was allowed only to those approved by the authorities.

Some sources suggest there were six mini volcanoes with glowing material inside. If there were six areas described as "mini volcanoes" but 36 warhead strikes, the logical question is how could 36 hits cause only six mini volcanos? The explanation may be that six small warheads delivered from one carrier hit the designated area in a pattern that provided a “mutual destruction engagement zone,” meaning that they hit relatively close to each other in a pattern so that the penetration and the shock waves interreacted with each other, thus multiplying the effect and affecting a much wider area.