Putin Announces Ongoing Combat Testing of New Russian Missile

In a press briefing on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Oreshnik high-speed missile had undergone successful testing in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. He further stated his intent to deploy the weapon in future combat operations.

“We will continue these trials, including in a combat environment, as dictated by the situation and security threats to Russia,” Putin remarked, according to the Russian state news outlet, TASS.

Putin described the Oreshnik missile—named after the Russian word for hazel tree—as capable of flying at speeds 10 times that of sound, rendering it effectively immune to interception by air defense systems.

Reacting to the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labeled it as a “clear and severe escalation” of the ongoing war. He added that the strike serves as “further evidence that Russia has no interest in peace.”