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Analysis and Technology

How could Ukraine stop Russia’s new Oreshnik missile?

Russia’s new ballistic missile flies on a high arc out of Earth’s atmosphere and releases multiple high-speed projectiles, making it challenging but not impossible to intercept

By David Hambling

27 November 2024

A different missile to Oreshnik, the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, is test-fired from the Plesetsk launch pad in north-western Russia in March 2024

Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo

On 21 November a new Russian weapon hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, with 36 projectiles descending at high velocity like meteors through the clouds. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said this was the first test of a new ballistic missile called Oreshnik and that more would follow.

Ukraine is seeking ways to neutralise the threat. While it has stopped other Russian attacks, including short-range ballistic missiles, this one will be more challenging. Like…

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