Russian military expert Dmitry Kornev, in an RT article today, argues that the emergence of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile “suggests that Russia is rewriting the rules of strategic deterrence—not with treaty-breaking escalation, but with something quieter, subtler, and potentially just as decisive.” His theme throughout is that the Oreshnik has strategic implications, but without crossing the nuclear threshold. This is precisely the point made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, when it made its first appearance in 2024.
Kornev’s description of how the Oreshnik works points to an entirely new principle: a weapon that depends not on blast effect to destroy its target, but on the kinetic energy of multiple projectiles striking the target at hypersonic speeds. “One of the defining features of the system is its ability to maintain hypersonic velocity during the final phase of flight,” Kornev writes. “Unlike traditional ballistic warheads that decelerate as they descend, Oreshnik reportedly retains speeds exceeding Mach 10, possibly Mach 11, even in dense atmospheric layers. This enables it to strike with massive kinetic energy, increasing penetration and lethality without requiring a large explosive charge.
“At such speeds, even a non-nuclear warhead becomes a strategic weapon,” Kornev continues. “A concentrated high-velocity impact is enough to destroy command bunkers, radar sites, or missile silos. The weapon’s effectiveness doesn’t rely on blast radius, but on precise, high-energy delivery. That makes it both harder to detect and harder to intercept.
