'High probability' of Russian missile launch from Oreshnik site over next day, Ukraine's Air Force warns
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Russian forces are highly likely to use an intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine over the next 24 hours, the Ukrainian Air Force said on June 12.
Russia has fired such a missile, known as the Oreshnik, three times during the full-scale war. The intermediate-range ballistic missile is believed to be a modified version of the Rubezh surface-to-surface missile. Its most recent use came on May 24, when it was launched at Bila Tserkva in Kyiv Oblast.
The launch is expected to come from the Kapustin Yar launch site in southern Russia, the Air Force said on Telegram.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukrainians to take air raid alerts seriously over the coming days, indicating that another large-scale Russian missile and drone attack may be imminent.
The warning comes after a series of mass attacks on the capital over the past month, including an overnight strike on May 14 that killed 24 people.
First used by Russia against the city of Dnipro in November 2024, the Oreshnik is a newly commissioned intermediate-range ballistic missile belonging to a class of weapons previously banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Both Moscow and Washington have since withdrawn from the treaty.
Upon reentry, the missile can deploy up to six nuclear-capable reentry vehicles carrying a total of 36 warheads.
In all three attacks on Ukraine, the missile's warheads carried inert payloads rather than explosives.
Still, despite causing limited damage in its previous uses, the Oreshnik has featured prominently in Russia's campaign of threats against Ukraine, including warnings that it could be used to strike so-called "decision-making centers," a reference to Ukraine's political leadership and government institutions in Kyiv.
