JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was increasing production of the Orestnik medium-range hypersonic missile, which was first launched against Ukraine last November.
"The production of the latest Oreshnik medium-range missile system series is underway," Putin told military cadets who passed the televised televised statement reported by Reuters on Monday, June 23.
Putin's system has proven to be very good in combat conditions.
Russia first used Oreshnik to attack Ukraine on November 21, 2024. Russia at that time fired the missile at a defense company in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine.
Putin has authorized the attack in direct response to the first use of US-made ballistic missiles and British-made cruise missiles by Ukraine to hit Russian territory after Western countries gave permission.
Putin at the time threatened to carry out further attacks, including against decision-making centers in Kyiv, if Ukraine continued to attack Russia with Western long-range weapons.
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Medium-range missiles have a range of up to 5,500 km (3,415 miles), allowing them to strike anywhere in Europe or the western United States of Russia.
Putin insists Oreshnik is unlikely to be intercepted and has a destructive force comparable to nuclear weapons, although some Western experts doubt the claim.
In December 2024, a US official said the weapon was not considered a game-changer on the battlefield, calling it experimental and saying Russia may have little.
Putin said late last year, Russia could also place Oreshnik in its Belarus allied territory in the second half of 2025.
Belarus borders members of NATO Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.
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