Russia’s Oreshnik Ballistic Missile That Struck Dnipro Carried No Explosive Warheads

The Oreshnik ballistic missile launched on Dnipro last week carried no explosive charges, resulting in minimal damage despite its advanced capabilities, according to two senior Ukrainian officials cited by Reuters on November 26.

Fragments of the missile, which carried multiple dummy warheads, were recovered by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) at the impact site. One Ukrainian official described the damage as “quite small,” while another explained, “In this case, [the missile] was without explosives… There were no types of explosions like we expected. There was something, but it was not huge.”

The Oreshnik, also known as Kedr, is based on the RS-26 “Rubezh” intercontinental ballistic missile. Although it reportedly has a range exceeding 3,100 miles (5,000 km), the missile that struck Dnipro traveled roughly 700 km from Russia’s Astrakhan region in just 15 minutes, reaching a peak speed of 11 Machs.

Experts believe the absence of explosives allowed room for sensors, enabling Russia to gather data on the missile’s performance.

“I would say this is an incredibly expensive way to deliver what is probably not that much destruction,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Vladimir Putin later declared the test a success, claiming Russia has a stockpile of Oreshnik missiles ready for further use.

Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine revealed fragments of the newly developed Russian Oreshnik Intercontinental ballistic missile, which struck the city of Dnipro on November 21.