Gen.-Col. Sergey Karakayev, the Commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) since 2010, was interviewed about the Oreshnik missile system and Russia’s overall strategic capabilities in the official military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda on Dec. 16, the 65th anniversary of the creation of the SMF. That same day, Putin had addressed the Defense Board and cited Karakayev as his authority on how using several combined Oreshniks packs the power of a nuclear weapon:
“The Commander of the Strategic Missile Forces [Sergey Karakayev], who is here today, told me that he thinks that using several such systems at once can be comparable in power to using nuclear weapons. But it is not nuclear, since there is no nuclear fuel, no nuclear component, and no contamination. This is a very important element in deciding what weapons we can use,” Putin explained to the Defense Board.
RT reported on Karakayev’s article and his argument that Russia has ICBMs that can reach any place on the planet, and that the Oreshnik—and other unnamed new systems—cannot be intercepted and can therefore knock out the West’s entire ABM system in Europe at will. (This would presumably reestablish Russia’s ability to launch a successful second-strike in the event it were subjected to a preemptive nuclear first strike.)
RT reported: “Russia is developing new missile systems that are no less effective than the Avangard nuclear gliders and the hypersonic Oreshnik missile, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) has said… According to Karakayev, Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), such as the Avangard and Oreshnik, are equipped with fundamentally new types of warheads that are virtually unstoppable. Work is also underway on testing and introducing into combat the new Sarmat and Osina strategic missile systems. `And these are far from all the examples,’ Karakaev said, adding that Russia is in the final stages of developing a wide range of equally effective missile systems, but `the time has not yet come to talk about them’…
“The liquid-fueled heavy RS-28 Sarmat, which had its first successful test launch in April 2022, is believed to be able to carry up to ten heavy warheads with multiple re-entry capability. It is also reportedly compatible with the Avangard hypersonic glider, a type of warhead that can approach targets in the atmosphere at high speeds while retaining maneuverability to dodge anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. The Russian military said the Sarmat’s range allows it to be fired from Russia at targets in the US via the South Pole, avoiding the American ABM site in Alaska…
“Asked about the US missile bases near Russia’s borders in Romania and Poland, Karakayev said they are not capable of countering Russian hypersonic missiles… `There is no place in terms of range that our missiles cannot reach,’ he stressed.”
Karakayev has long been an advocate of developing offensive weapons which technologically render the enemy’s defensive systems obsolete. For example, EIR reported in 2012 that “Strategic Missile Forces chief Gen. Sergey Karakayev… (said) Russia will have a new intercontinental ballistic missile deployed by 2018, which is capable of penetrating the Euro BMD system. `It is necessary to note the new missiles’ ability to be invulnerable before launch, thanks to their mobility, as well as their ability to tackle the task of defeating any possible missile defense system within the next 15-20 years, should such a need arise,’ General Karakayev stated.”
