A new Russian missile reached speeds exceeding 8,000 miles per hour during Thursday’s strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, traveling from launch to impact in just 15 minutes, Ukrainian military intelligence revealed Friday in its first detailed assessment of the weapon.
The missile, which Russian President Vladimir Putin identified as the “Oreshnik,” achieved a maximum velocity of Mach 11 – approximately 13,600 kilometers (8,450 miles) per hour – during its final approach, according to Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR).
“The flight time of this Russian missile from the moment of its launch in the Astrakhan region to its impact in the city of Dnipro was 15 minutes,” the HUR stated. “The missile was equipped with six warheads: each equipped with six submunitions.”
Deputy intelligence chief Vadym Skibitsky identified the weapon as part of Russia’s Kedr missile complex, which underwent initial testing in June 2021. According to Ukraine’s Ukrinform news agency, Skibitsky estimated Russia may possess at least 10 more such missiles for testing before beginning mass production.
The unprecedented speed details emerged as NATO announced an emergency meeting with Ukraine scheduled for Tuesday in Brussels to discuss the strike. While Ukrainian officials initially suggested the weapon might have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, both U.S. officials and NATO confirmed Putin’s description of it as an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
Putin characterized the strike as a warning to Western nations against supporting Ukraine’s war effort, as the conflict approaches its three-year mark amid increased Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory using Western-supplied long-range missiles.
