Russia's Oreshnik missile launch making West think: Hungary's Orban
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban calls on European politicians to reconsider their stances after Russia's launch of its Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile.
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Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Russia's test flight of the Oreshnik missile has made the West ponder, hoping they will heed warnings, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pointed out on Friday.
Orban told the Kossuth broadcaster, "There are two pieces of news that call European politicians to account. The first is that Russia has launched a weapon that was previously unknown. This demonstration of weapons has made us all think."
He hoped that this would "require caution not only from us, but also from Western Europe."
Oreshnik is Russia's newest hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that Moscow used to target the Yuzhmash complex in Dnipro, Ukraine, which manufactures missile technology.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin disclosed that Moscow already possesses a stockpile of Oreshnik missile systems and has decided to mass produce them.
In a similar context, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin Sunday that Putin's decree updating Russia's nuclear doctrine should be viewed as a message to the West and not as a mere coincidence.
“Surely, there cannot be any coincidences here. There is certain consistency,” Peskov said when asked about the doctrine update, adding that Russia is ready to respond to unprecedented escalation incited by the West.
Putin warns of hypersonic strikes on decision-making centers in Kiev
Putin announced that Ukraine’s decision-making centers, including key military and industrial facilities, could face strikes from Russia’s newest Oreshnik hypersonic missile system.
Speaking at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Summit in Astana, Putin described the Oreshnik system as capable of delivering non-nuclear strikes with destructive power comparable to a nuclear attack but without environmental contamination.
"If you use several such systems in one strike at once—two, three, or four systems—it will be comparable in strength to a nuclear strike," Putin told reporters.
"But it is not nuclear because it is highly accurate and not equipped with a nuclear explosive device. It does not contaminate the environment."
The announcement follows recent strikes on Russian military facilities in Kursk and Bryansk, reportedly using US and UK long-range missiles supplied to Ukraine.
In response, Russia test-launched the Oreshnik system against Ukraine’s Yuzhmash defense plant in Dnipro.
Putin reiterated that any Western-backed attacks on Russian territory would be met with decisive action.
