Japan’s newspaper Nikkei suggests that Russia may respond to perceived Western threats with strikes by the medium-range ballistic missile complex Oreshnik, a weapon the Kremlin began serial production of in 2025 and has already started fielding, according to President Vladimir Putin.
Putin’s warning and the Oreshnik production timeline
Speaking at the Valdai discussion club, President Putin criticized Europe’s growing militarization and the amplification of a so-called “Russian threat.” He denied Moscow has plans to attack NATO but warned Russia would “respond quickly” should an alliance action create a direct threat. Nikkei notes that Putin likely referred to concrete steps such as the planned 2025 serial production of the new medium-range missile, which — in Nikkei’s assessment — could cover all of Europe.
Kyiv and Washington concede interception limits
The head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said Ukraine lacks the technical capability to intercept the Oreshnik, calling it “very serious” and asserting interception is not possible. Former U.S. intelligence officer Scott Ritter echoed that the United States and NATO do not possess equivalent new medium-range missiles and therefore would struggle to shoot such weapons down. Analysts quoted by Nikkei warn that Oreshnik’s ability to reach European targets would substantially change the strategic picture.
Fielding, performance claims and origin of the name
On August 1, 2025, President Putin announced the delivery of the first serial Oreshnik system to the armed forces and declared that series production had begun. He previously described the missile’s use in November 2024 and asserted no effective countermeasures exist. According to the president, the Oreshnik flies at roughly 10 Mach — about 2.5–3 km/s. Putin joked about the weapon’s name during remarks, clarifying its official form as “Oreshnik.”
Implications
Observers stress two immediate implications: first, a serially produced medium-range capability that reaches Europe forces NATO and regional states to reassess defense and deterrence postures; second, claims about unstoppable speed and insufficient interception capacity — if validated — would drive urgency in countermeasures, early warning, and diplomatic de-escalation efforts.
