MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. European leaders should consider Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement about placing the Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic missile system on combat duty, Military-Political Analysis Bureau head Alexander Mikhailov told TASS.
On December 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at a meeting of the Defense Ministry board that the Oreshnik missile system would be placed on combat duty by the end of 2025.
"The Oreshnik, like other medium-range offensive systems, was returned to active duty in the Russian Armed Forces after the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, in order to target any European or NATO state that might attempt, or is attempting, to harm the Russian Federation. Therefore, the announcement of its deployment was, I believe, intended for Western consumers, primarily as a "hello" to European leaders. Europeans need to think twice when reading news from Russia," the expert said.
He emphasized that the tactical and technical characteristics of the Oreshnik missile allow the Russian army to launch a strike targeting any spot in Europe.
In addition, Mikhailov said, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the Oreshnik missile system will also be deployed in Belarus around the same time. "For NATO countries, this news means that, as of January 1, 2026, medium-range missile systems capable of delivering both conventional and special-purpose warheads to any European country at hypersonic speed will be placed on combat duty in Russia and Belarus," the military expert said.
On December 6, 2024, after a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State in Minsk, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy Russian medium-range ballistic missiles, the Oreshnik, in Belarus. In response, the Russian president indicated that the Oreshnik system could be deployed in Belarus in the second half of 2025. In Belarus, the Oreshnik system will be part of the Russian Army’s Strategic Missile Forces, but Minsk will determine its targets. On November 10, 2025, the Belarusian president told reporters that the Oreshnik system would enter combat duty in December.