Oreshnik

Russia’s road-mobile, MIRV-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile — a post-INF dual-use weapon employed sparingly for strategic messaging rather than battlefield effect.

Overview

The Oreshnik (Russian: Орешник, “hazel tree”) is a Russian road-mobile, solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) assessed as a derivative of the RS-26 Rubezh/Yars family. It carries a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) payload, demonstrated with six warheads each dispensing up to six submunitions, and is declared by Moscow to be nuclear-capable. The weapon is used selectively—single or dual launches against high-profile targets—to send political signals rather than to achieve routine battlefield effect. Its limited inventory, high cost, and poor accuracy for conventional point targets reinforce that role.

Development

The U.S. intelligence community assesses the Oreshnik as a two-stage variant of the RS-26 Rubezh, itself a derivative of the Yars ICBM that was tested between 2012 and 2015 and shelved in 2018, according to CSIS. Development likely resumed after the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, producing a missile that bridges the gap between the short-range Iskander-M and Russia’s intercontinental arsenal. The first known flight—and combat use—occurred on 21 November 2024, when a single missile was launched from Kapustin Yar against Dnipro, Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin announced on 1 August 2025 that the Oreshnik had entered serial production and received an initial batch. He later stated that the missile would be on combat duty before the end of the year, and on 18 December 2025 Gen. Valery Gerasimov confirmed a Strategic Rocket Forces brigade had been equipped during 2025, as reported by The Moscow Times. In parallel, Russia pursued basing in Belarus: site construction at the former Krichev-6 airbase in eastern Belarus was visible in satellite imagery from August 2025, and the Russian Ministry of Defence declared the forward-deployed systems on combat duty on 30 December 2025, according to TWZ.

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