Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 21 announced his country had launched a new type of missile in an attack on Ukraine, a demonstration of military might meant to deter Kyiv's allies from further support against his full-scale invasion.
"There are currently no ways of countering this weapon. The missiles attack targets at a speed of 10 Mach, that's 2.5-3 km per second," he said.
"We are ready for any developments. If anyone still doubts this, they shouldn't. There will always be a response."
Putin said the "new missile" was called "
Oreshnik," but analysts and officials have since questioned the novelty of the weapon, as well as how effective it could be to prevent allies' support of Ukraine.
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What is the Oreshnik missile?
According to Putin, Oreshnik, which means "hazel" in English, is a new invention that Western air defense systems would not be able to intercept.
The Oreshnik is designed to carry nuclear weapons. However, Putin said it was not armed with a nuclear warhead during this attack.
"In combat conditions, a test was carried out of one of the latest Russian intermediate-range missile systems. In this case, with a non-nuclear hypersonic version of a ballistic missile," he said in a live speech on Nov. 21.
The Oreshnik described by Putin is so new that barely anything is known about it other than what he claimed during his speech.
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The reality however, appears to be slightly different.
"I'd be extremely shocked if this missile system had more than 10% new parts,"
Fabian Hoffmann, a defense expert and doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, told the Kyiv Independent.
"I think basically they just took apart the RS-26 or just cannibalized it, and then put together this new missile with a couple of upgrades, and a new paint job."
The RS-26 Hoffman refers to is the
RS-26 Rubezh, of which quite a bit is known.
First produced in 2011, and successfully tested in 2012, the Rubezh is a 36,000 kilogram, nuclear capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a known range of
5,800 kilometers.
Its declared but undemonstrated range of
6,000 kilometers would only just nudge it into the category of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Leopard 2A6 tank crew in the 
21st separate mechanized brigade. His crew cleared several forest strips from the enemy, withstood 12 hits and managed to leave the battlefield on its own.
