In a remarkable twist of events, critical components of Russia’s new missile have fallen into Ukrainian hands, offering experts an unprecedented opportunity to study the latest technology deployed by Moscow.
This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that Russia had conducted a strike using a new “ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic warhead” targeting the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
The strike, described by Putin as a response to Ukraine’s use of American and British long-range weapons, marks a significant escalation. “Our missilemen called it ‘Oreshnik,'” Putin stated, claiming that Ukraine has “no means” to counter the new missile type.
The Pentagon has confirmed that Russia’s missile is based on the RS-26 Rubezh, referred to by NATO as SS-X-31, intercontinental ballistic missile model, and noted that the United States was briefly pre-notified through existing Nuclear Risk Reduction channels.
This strike represents the first instance globally of the use of such a class of weapon in active warfare. Despite the missile being reduced largely to fragments after the impact, Ukrainian experts, alongside international specialists, now have direct access to crucial elements of this advanced weaponry.
According to the Ukrainian military, even these fragments are of immense value for studying potential technological innovations, materials, and other components of interest—an effort that will be conducted in cooperation with Western partners.
Up until now, all prior tests of Russian intercontinental and intermediate-range ballistic missiles had been conducted in a controlled setting, with remnants exclusively recovered and safeguarded by Russian authorities. Each piece, down to the smallest screw, is typically classified at the highest levels and guarded rigorously against foreign intelligence efforts.
But now, due to Putin’s emotionally-driven decision, Western countries have been handed a window into some of Russia’s most closely guarded military technologies.
