Russia-Ukraine war: In a significant escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced to the world that Russia launched an “Oreshnik”, one of its newest intermediate-range missiles, at a defence enterprise in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in direct response to Ukraine’s use of US and British missiles on November 21.
The Russian President said that the missile travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and so could not be intercepted. News agency Reuters quoted Russian sources saying saying that the range of the missile was 5,000 km (3,100 miles), allowing Russia to strike most of Europe and the west coast of the United States.
Anatoly Matviychuk, a Russian military expert, said it could carry six to eight conventional or nuclear warheads, and was probably already in service, according to Yuri Podolyaka, a prominent Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, the Reuters report said.
The idea that Russia could launch missiles, possibly hitting nine US army bases and missile storage sites from different places, is a daunting one. Yet, any such aggression could potentially tip the balance towards global conflict. But, generally, we can expect Russia to refrain from taking such a drastic step unless truly forced into a corner.
Russian missile strike range: US bases in target
- The Oreshnik missile can reach the US military base in Kuwait, 2,100 km away, in approximately 11 minutes.
- It can strike the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, located 2,500 km away, in 12 minutes.
- The missile is capable of hitting the US air base in Qatar, 2,650 km distant, in 13 minutes.
- It can reach the Pearl Harbor naval and air base, 5,100 km away, in 25 minutes.
- The missile has the capacity to strike the US air base in Alaska, located 2,400 km away, within 12 minutes.
About Oreshnik missile
Oreshnik is a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) characterized by its reported speed exceeding Mach 10 (12,300 km/h; 7,610 mph; 3.40 km/s), as per the Ukrainian military. The missile is equipped with six warheads, each reportedly containing submunitions. The missile has multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles along with separate warheads able to hit different targets.
Readers must note that despite advanced features of the missile, US officials have raised concerns that the Oreshnik remains in an experimental stage. Also, Russia is believed to possess only a limited number of units, making regular deployment against Ukraine improbable.
(With inputs from agencies)
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