Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from The Associated Press is the basis of this artificial intelligence-assisted article.
Russia launched its advanced Oreshnik hypersonic missile at Ukraine’s Lviv region for the second time since the war began, signaling its military resolve to Western allies as critical U.S.-led peace negotiations advance.
Some key facts:
• Russia struck Ukraine’s western Lviv region near the Polish border with its Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile late Thursday night.
• The Oreshnik travels at Mach 10 (10 times the speed of sound) and Russian President Vladimir Putin claims it is immune to any missile defense system.
• Russia first deployed the Oreshnik in November 2024 against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
• The Pentagon identifies the Oreshnik as an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.
• The weapon can carry either nuclear or conventional warheads and is capable of reaching any European target.
• Up to 10 Oreshnik systems have been deployed to Belarus, Russia’s key ally, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
• Russian experts view the strike as a warning to European nations proposing to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a prospective peace agreement.
• Russia’s 2024 revised nuclear doctrine significantly lowered the threshold for nuclear weapon use and placed Belarus under Russia’s atomic umbrella.
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
