Putin says Oreshnik hypersonic missile now operational, to be deployed in Belarus

UPDATED: Aug 2, 2025 05:54 IST

President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia has begun production of its latest hypersonic missile, the Oreshnik, and reaffirmed plans to deploy it in Belarus before the end of 2025, dramatically raising the stakes in Europe’s security landscape.

Speaking alongside Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Valaam Island near St. Petersburg, Putin confirmed that the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile had officially entered military service and that deployment sites in Belarus had already been selected.

“Preparatory work is ongoing, and most likely we will be done with it before the year’s end,” Putin said. “The first series of Oreshniks and their systems have been produced and entered military service.”

The missile, named after the Russian word for hazelnut tree, made its combat debut in November when Moscow fired it at a missile factory in Dnipro, Ukraine. According to Russian military officials, Oreshnik can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads and travel at speeds of up to Mach 10—fast enough to evade Western missile defenses.

“Its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at speeds up to Mach 10 are immune to being intercepted,” Putin claimed. “So powerful that the use of several of them in one conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.”

Putin also issued a thinly veiled threat to NATO, warning that Oreshnik could be used against Western allies if they continue to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons used to strike inside Russia.

“We’re warning the West. If Kyiv uses NATO-supplied missiles to strike Russia, we could respond using systems like Oreshnik, even beyond Ukraine,” Putin warned.

The missile’s range is expected to cover all of Europe, making its planned deployment in Belarus — a close Kremlin ally with a 673-mile border with Ukraine — particularly significant. Belarus has already hosted Russian troops, tactical nuclear weapons, and now appears poised to become a forward base for Russia’s latest strategic arsenal.

Putin and Lukashenko signed a security pact last year, placing Belarus under Moscow’s nuclear umbrella. That agreement gave Russia the option to use nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus if aggression is perceived.

Lukashenko, in power for over 30 years, has aligned closely with the Kremlin, allowing Russia to use Belarusian territory to launch its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. While Moscow hasn’t disclosed how many nuclear weapons are stationed there, Lukashenko claimed in December that Belarus has "several dozen."

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With inputs from Associated Press

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