Last week, Russia conducted a test of a new ballistic missile targeting the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, which carried multiple warheads but no explosives and only caused minimal damage, according to two senior Ukrainian government officials. The test was interpreted as a message to the West after the U.S. and Britain allowed Ukraine to strike targets within Russian territory.
The Purpose and Details of the Test
The sources revealed that it was fitted with dummy warheads, which, to some extent, contributed to its limited impact on the ground. One source described the damage as “quite small,” while the other noted, “In this case, (the missile) was without explosives …There were no types of explosions like we expected. There was something, but it was not huge.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the test was successful and declared the launch as a success. According to him, the missile hit the target, a missile and defense facility in Dnipro. Putin also announced that Russia will continue testing the Oreshnik missile in combat and has a stock ready for deployment.
Strategic Context and Development
The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range ballistic missile that is considered an experimental weapon. Western experts link it to the RS-26 missile system. Intermediate-range ballistic missiles are designed for long-range nuclear strikes and are usually aimed at locations thousands of kilometers away. However, the missile launched from the Astrakhan region in Russia traveled only about 700 km.
US officials have revealed that Russia may have only a few of these missiles. The design of the missile enables the reentry vehicle, which normally carries the warhead, to be fitted with instrumentation. This helps the developers measure the performance of the missile during the test. However, it is not known whether the Russian warheads contained such technology.
Ukrainian Response and Counter Measures
It is known that while keeping details of military airstrikes under wraps since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine still said something about the Oreshnik missile test. Ukrainian officials are already working to develop air defense systems to counteract such weaponry.
Expert Perspective on the Test
Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California, shared his opinion on the missile test. “I would say this is an incredibly expensive way to deliver what is probably not that much destruction,” he said, highlighting the high costs of using such advanced weaponry for relatively limited impact.
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