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Russia’s Oreshnik missile, which the Kremlin has promoted as a revolutionary new weapon, was actually assembled in 2017 and appears to be based on older technology, according to an analysis of recovered debris reported by Reuters.
Ukrainian specialists who examined fragments of the intermediate-range ballistic missile launched by Russia in January found evidence contradicting claims that the weapon is a completely new development. According to the analysis, the missile was assembled in 2017 using components manufactured in 2016 or earlier. Investigators also found that its onboard computer contained parts produced exclusively in Russia and Belarus.
One Ukrainian expert involved in the examination said the findings were surprising because the missile had been presented as an entirely new system, while the assembly date clearly pointed to a much older origin.
Ukrainian military officials believe the Oreshnik is not a new missile at all, but rather a modernized version of the Soviet-era and later Russian RS-26 Rubezh missile, whose first successful tests took place in 2012.
According to Ukrainian presidential sanctions adviser Vladyslav Vlasiuk, specialists recovered electronic components from an Oreshnik missile that struck near Lviv in January, while debris from subsequent launches continues to be studied. He noted that Western sanctions appear to be forcing Russia to replace some European and American microchips with Chinese alternatives. At the same time, investigators continue to find Western-made components in Russian weapons, indicating that Moscow is still obtaining them through sanctions-evasion networks and parallel imports.
Russia has reportedly used Oreshnik-type ballistic missiles at least three times during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. One of the launches occurred during the large-scale attack on May 24, when a missile targeted an area near Kyiv.
The Oreshnik is believed to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and is claimed by Russia to have a range of more than 5,000 kilometers. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that the missile cannot be intercepted by modern air-defense systems, although those claims have been questioned by Ukrainian and international analysts.
Large amounts of missile debris recovered after the May attack allowed Ukrainian specialists and Western partners, including U.S. intelligence agencies, to conduct a more detailed examination of the weapon. Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War have also suggested that Russia may have launched two Oreshnik missiles during the strike. According to open-source intelligence researchers, one of them may have malfunctioned and crashed in Russian-controlled territory in the Donetsk region. If confirmed, the incident would raise further questions about the reliability of a missile that Moscow has portrayed as one of its most advanced strategic weapons.
