Russian Oreshnik missile could be Rubezh under another name - Defense Express
Illustrative photo: mobile intercontinental ballistic missile system (Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia did not use the RS-26 Rubezh for the strike on Ukraine. Instead, the attack was allegedly carried out with the Oreshnik ballistic missile, Defense Express reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia allegedly used the new medium-range Oreshnik missile for the strike on Dnipro, claiming that it was a test launch of the missile.
However, questions arise about the true nature of the missile designated Oreshnik, as there is no publicly available information about a Russian missile by that name.
It is important to remember that the Russian regime has often distorted information. For example, in the summer of 2022, Russian propagandist media claimed the existence of a long-range anti-ship missile project called Zmeyevik, which was said to be an analog to China’s DF-21D and DF-26 ballistic missiles.
However, by the fall of 2023, it was announced that work on the Zmeyevik project had allegedly been stopped. After that, there was no further public information about the missile.
It turned out that the Zmeyevik likely only existed on the pages of Russian media, and reports about it might have served as a "cover" for real Russian projects related to medium-range ballistic missiles.
Regarding the Oreshnik, Defense Express offered the following assumptions:
"It is possible that the designation Oreshnik could have been used in working documentation for a project known more widely as the RS-26 Rubezh. This kind of dual-purpose naming is not unusual for the Russian defense industry. For instance, the Kh-101 cruise missile is also referred to as Product 504, although the designation Kh-101 is predominantly used in practice," the news agency noted.
However, according to Defense Express, the Kremlin's use of the name Oreshnik seems to be aimed at having a psychological impact on Western countries. The goal appears to be to create the impression that Russia has developed new, previously unknown missile capabilities, which in turn serves to intimidate the civilized world.
Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin recorded a message to Russians, in which he stated that Russia had struck Ukraine with the Oreshnik ballistic missile.
Additionally, Putin acknowledged the ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes against Russia.
