Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched an Oreshnik hypersonic missile aimed at intimidating Ukraine and sending a signal of Russian military might to Europe and the United States at a crucial juncture in talks to end the war.
Putin has repeatedly boasted of the speed and destructive power of the Oreshnik, which Russia first fired at Ukraine in November 2024.
Since 2024, Russia has kept the weapon in reserve.
The overnight Oreshnik strike in western Ukraine came after a week of setbacks for Russia.
On Saturday, United States President Donald Trump sent U.S. special forces to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a close Putin ally, and on Wednesday U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the north Atlantic.
On Tuesday, Britain and France announced plans to deploy troops in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire – prompting Russia to respond that it would view foreign soldiers as legitimate combat targets.
Gerhard Mangott, a Russia specialist at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, said Moscow was frustrated at being sidelined during weeks of diplomacy between the U.S., Ukraine and the Europeans, and “particularly mad” about the planned potential troop deployment by Kyiv’s European allies.
He said the use of the Oreshnik should be seen in that context.
“It’s a signal to the United States and the Europeans about the military capabilities of the Russian army,” Mangott said.
He said Moscow wanted to convey that “Russia is to be taken seriously, given its military arsenal, and that the Europeans and Trump should return to a minimum of respect for the Russian position in the negotiations.”
The Oreshnik is capable of carrying nuclear as well as conventional warheads, although there was no suggestion of any nuclear component to the latest attack.
A senior Ukrainian official told Reuters that the missile struck a state enterprise in the western city of Lviv and was likely carrying inert or “dummy” warheads – as in 2024, when Russia first fired it to test the weapon in war.
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