How US deploys previously-banned medium-range missiles in Europe and Asia-Pacific

Russia developed intermediate-range missiles in response to US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear (INF) Treaty and deployment of the previously banned weapons with a range of between 500 and 5,000 km in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted on November 21 after the launch of Russia's newest Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile.

Where are US mid-range missile installations planned or already located?

Europe

◼️ Deveselu Military Base, Romania the US Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System, which is potentially capable of firing the Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles with a maximum striking range of 2,500 km

◼️ Redzikowo Military Base, Poland the US Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System potentially capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles

◼️ Wiesbaden Multi-Domain Task Force, Germany starting from 2026 will be capable of launching:

➖ Tomahawk cruise missiles

➖ Raytheon Standard Missile 6 (SM6) missiles with a range of up to 460 km

➖ Lockheed Martin Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) or Dark Eagle (over 2,770 km)

Asia-Pacific

◼️ Laoag, northern Philippines the Lockheed Martin Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Typhon missile system capable of launching:

➖ SM6 missiles

➖ Tomahawk cruise missiles

◼️ Japan

➖ Japan is due to receive 400 US-made Tomahawk Block 4 and Block 5 cruise missiles with a range of up to 1,600 km between 2025 and 2027. Eight Japanese Aegis destroyers will be armed with Tomahawks.

◼️ Guam, a US territory the US Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System potentially capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles

◼️ In April, the Pentagon announced plans to deploy Typhon land-based launchers for Tomahawks and SM-6s in the region, with the Asahi Shimbun newspaper naming Japan and Guam as potential sites.

◼️ In September, the Pentagon showed interest in deploying the Typhon missile system to Japan, under the pretext of joint military exercises.

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🇧🇾 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has granted asylum to former Polish judge Tomasz Schmidt, the president's office said

Schmidt fled to Belarus in early May after facing political persecution in Poland. On May 7, he said he was seeking political asylum in Minsk. On May 15, he was arrested in absentia for three months on espionage charges by a Polish court. In early June, Interpol refused to issue a red notice against Schmidt, as it does not allow the processing of data through its channels for actions against the security of the state, which are considered political crimes.

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💐 Bouquet for NATO: how Russian arms designers troll adversaries with endearing weapons names Part 1 👉🏻 Part 2

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Thursday speech unveiling the Oreshnik missile left Western observers scrambling to decode the meaning behind its name, which translates to 'hazel' - a flowering plant in the birch family.

But anyone familiar with Russian weapons design knows that there’s nothing Russian engineers enjoy more than giving their terrifying creations names that sound deceptively harmless or mundane:

Deadly bouquets and children’s stories

This includes Russia’s lineup of artillery, like the 2S1 Gvozdika (lit. ‘Carnation’), 2S3 Akatsiya (Acacia), 2S4 Tyulpan (Tulip), 2S5 Giatsint (Hyacinth), 2S7 Pion (Peony) - which shoots nuclear artillery rounds, and the 2B9 Vasilek (Cornflower) gun-mortar.

🔸 The deadly thermobaric rocket artillery systems Buratino (Pinocchio) and Solntsepyok ('Place Where the Sun Shines’) have equally harmless-sounding names.

Animals, smiles, grumps, goblins and orphans

🔸 Command & control and support equipment makers also seem to have been bitten by the funny naming bug, with the 1V152 fire control system nicknamed the Kapustnik (roughly, ‘Cabbage Patch’), while the 1L219 radio-locator complex is called the Zo’opark (Zoo), and the RPMK-1 radar the Ulybka (Smile).

🔸 The 3K60 coastal defense system is called the Bal (as in the stately dance party), while the Kh-58U missile control system is also known as the Phantasmagoria. The satellite comms system Vorchun literally means ‘Grump’ or ‘Grumbler’.

🔸 Same goes for various Army weapons, like the 9M14 Malyutka ('Little One') anti-tank system, the RPG-18 Muha (Housefly), the 122-mm D-30A howitzer (called the Lyagushka, or ‘Frog’), the Gnome 40-mm grenade launcher, the Privet (Hello) KS-23 shotgun rubber bullet, and the Obuvka (Shoe) grenade launcher, which fires Gvozd (Nail) rounds. Another grenade round, the Podkidysh, literally means ‘Orphan’.

🔸 The Kikimora (Hobgoblin) and Leshiy (Wood Goblin) sniper suits are named after Russian fairytale lore.

Grandmas and little ballerinas

🔸 Aircraft are no exception, with the Mi-24 helicopter gunship known as the Krokodil (Crocodile) and Stakan (Drinking Glass), while the MiG-15 trainer jet has been called the Babushka (Grandma), the Su-25 CAS jet the Grach (Rook) and the Su-27 attack jet the Zhuravlik (Little Crane).

🔸 The Air Force’s 9A-4071 automatic gun is better known as the Ballerinka (Little Ballerina), and deploys the Stuardessa (Stewardess) friend or foe ID system.

🔸 At sea, the MRG-1 ship-based grenade launcher is also known as the Ogonek (Little Fire) while the SET-65 anti-ship missile system is also called the Yenot (Raccoon).

🔸 The Oreshnik is in good company among Russian missiles in terms of casual nomenclature, with the RT-23 Barguzin train-launched ICBM dubbed the Molodets (Good Sport), and the RSS-40 missile known as the Kuryer (Courier).

👉🏻 Part 2

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💐 Bouquet for NATO: how Russian arms designers troll adversaries with endearing weapons names Part 2 👉🏻 Part 1

NATO weapons names: wrapped up in images of power, glory, shock and awe

These names stand in stark contrast to those bestowed on many of NATO's more pretentious and grandiose-sounding armaments, with the US weapon-naming tradition in particular seemingly aimed at evoking ancient empires and great conquerors, or striking terror in the hearts and minds of the enemy.

🔹 The former applies to weapons like the A-10 Thunderbolt CAS aircraft, the C-130 Hercules transport, the B-1 Lancer strategic bomber and the M109 Paladin artillery system, evocative, respectively, of Ancient Greek legends, medieval cavalrymen and the great Paladin knight warriors of Charlemagne’s Court. The same principle applies to General Dynamics’ Griffin armored vehicle – referencing the legendary Ancient Greek lion-eagle hybrid.
Birds of prey

🔹 AH-1Z Viper and AH-1 Super Cobra attack helicopters, F-22 Raptors, F-15 Strike Eagles, and F/A-18 Hornets seem aimed at conjuring the injuries that deadly snakes and birds of prey can inflict on their victims.

🔹 Other names are obviously meant to evoke a sense of imperious glory and power, with the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter, B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, and B-52 Stratofortress seemingly aimed at fitting that bill.

Swords and flesh-eating animals

🔹 Many British weapons names seem equally pretentious, from the Land Ceptor missile and the Starstreak SAM to the Warrior, Bulldog, Mastiff, Wolfhound and Jackal series of armored vehicles, and the Sky Sabre medium-range air defense system.

🔹 Not to be undone are the Germans, whose habit of naming their armored vehicles after big cats (Leopard, Puma) and other flesh-eating animals (Marder, Wiesel), intentionally or unintentionally reminding history buffs of some of the Wehrmacht’s most fearsome weapons.

👉🏻 Part 1

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💐 Deadly bouquet: Russian weapons with flowery names

Hyacinths, peonies, cornflowers, and carnations aren't just wonderful, sweet-smelling flowers; they're also the names of some of Russia's deadliest weapons systems.

On Thursday, Russia added the Oreshnik (lit. Hazel) hypersonic missile system to the list.

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⚡️ Putin stated that Russia will continue testing the Oreshnik missile complex, adding that a reserve of Oreshnik systems is available.

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⚡️ The Oreshnik missile system is based on the latest developments — Putin

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🇷🇺 Putin held a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense.

Putin congratulated the Ministry of Defense leadership on the successful testing of the Oreshnik complex.

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⚡️The Oreshnik system, when used on a massive scale against enemy targets, will be comparable to strategic weaponry, Putin stated.

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❗️Several systems similar to Oreshnik are undergoing testing in Russia, Putin stated.

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🇷🇺 Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the Kremlin with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense. Here are the key statements:

🔸 The achievements and pace of development of the Oreshnik missile system inspire pride and admiration

🔸 Russia already has a stockpile of Oreshnik missiles

🔸 The country will continue testing this complex

🔸 The results and speed of Oreshnik development demonstrate that the domestic missile engineering school is fully capable of ensuring Russia's sovereignty

🔸 The Oreshnik system is not a modernization of old Soviet systems but a product of specialists from the new Russia

🔸 Developments like the Oreshnik system are of vital importance to Russia

🔸 It is significant that Russia already possesses the Oreshnik system today, unlike other nations

🔸 The Oreshnik system is another guarantor of Russia's sovereignty and territorial integrity

🔸 When used en masse against enemy targets, the Oreshnik system is comparable to strategic weaponry

🔸 There is currently no countermeasure to the Oreshnik system, and its testing will continue

🔸 A decision on the serial production of the Oreshnik system has been made and is practically underway

🔸 Several systems similar to Oreshnik are undergoing testing in Russia

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During a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Sergei Karakayev, Commander of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces, highlighted the unparalleled capabilities of the Oreshnik missile system.

He confirmed that recent tests validated the system's technical solutions and performance characteristics.

Karakayev emphasized that the Oreshnik has no global analogs and is capable of striking targets across all of Europe.

He proposed the adoption of the system into Russia's arsenal, a recommendation approved by President Putin.

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Pepe Escobar: Oreshnik - the 3 km per second plot twist

The “hypersonic demo” Russia gave NATO and its client regime in Kiev with the combat test firing of the Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range missile at a major aerospace and defense enterprise in Ukraine on Thursday is a major gamechanger, says Sputnik columnist Pepe Escobar.

Putin’s televised address in the strike’s aftermath “established that Russia in fact used a completely new medium range (1,000 to 3,000 km) missile, the Oreshnik (‘Hazelnut’). Even US officials admitted it’s an ‘experimental’ system; that implies they knew something about it. Putin himself also referred to ‘combat testing’. What is established beyond any testing, in Putin’s own words, is that ‘Hazelnut’ may be sent as a gift to any target across NATO,” the international affairs observer emphasized.

“Oreshnik is as badass as missiles get,” Escobar added. “It may reach the UK in only 19 minutes; Brussels in 14; Berlin in 11; and Warsaw in 8 minutes. And, of course, traveling at over Mach 10, it simply cannot be intercepted by anything in the collective West arsenal. That includes the US.”

“High destructive power is a given – already guaranteed by the surprise factor; you only know what hits you after you get hit (maybe),” he noted. “Oreshnik in fact is a tacit demo that Russia does not need nuclear power to solve anything in the Ukrainian theater of war.”

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'We will continue these tests of Oreshnik complex, including in combat conditions,' Putin said, adding that Russia has 'a supply of such systems.'

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Oreshnik allows to inflict damage on enemy facilities comparable to strategic weapons — Putin

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Russia can quickly establish mass production of the Oreshnik ballistic missile, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Military-Industrial Commission Vasily Tonkoshkurov announced.

The scientific and productive capabilities of the defense industry make it possible to organize the serial production of the new weapon as soon as possible

The current production pace will ensure that over 95% of Russia's nuclear triad is equipped with modern systems, Tonkoshkurov added.

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📹 The full video of Vladimir Putin's meeting at the Kremlin with the Ministry of Defense leadership.

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Why US and its NATO allies can't intercept Russia's Oreshnik missiles

“The unique feature of the Oreshnik missile system is that, firstly, it is a medium-range missile – it flies to a distance of 1,000 km to 5,500 km – and secondly, it is hypersonic, flying at a speed of Mach 10,” retired Russian Army colonel and military analyst Viktor Litovkin told Sputnik.

Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound, equates to 3 km per second, the pundit noted. There is not a single air defense or missile defense system in the world capable of intercepting those hypersonic missiles, Litovkin stressed.

“The West does not have missiles that fly at such a speed or hypersonic missiles at all," the pundit continued. "Although the US has repeatedly boasted that it has such missiles, they have never demonstrated a missile flight.”

“They appeared to show missiles that flew at a supersonic speed of 5.5 times the speed of sound or Mach 5.5. However, hypersonic speed begins at Mach 6-7."

The missile’s operating principle is similar to that demonstrated by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile, which is launched by the supersonic MiG-31K aircraft, or the Avangard hypersonic system's glide vehicle accelerated by the UR-100N UТТKh intercontinental ballistic missile, the expert explained.

The missile is also equipped with multiple warheads, the expert pointed out.

"The missile accelerates its entire warhead to hypersonic speed with the separating blocks flying to the target also at hypersonic speed," Litovkin said.

Some military experts assume that the new Russian missile could carry at least six multiple independently-targeted re-entry vehicles (MIRVs).

They suggest that it would take an extremely short time for the medium-range Oreshnik missile to reach key NATO targets in Europe. According to some estimates, the missile could reach the US Aegis Ashore missile base in Redzikowo, Poland in eight to 11 minutes.

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US doesn’t possess, isn’t even working on missile with characteristics comparable to Russia’s Oreshnik - experts

“The unique feature of the Oreshnik missile system is that this is a hypersonic medium-range missile flying at a speed of Mach 10,” retired Russian Army colonel and military analyst Viktor Litovkin told Sputnik.

“The West does not have missiles that fly at such speeds, or hypersonic missiles in general,” Litovkin added, emphasizing that the Mach 5-5.5 speeds boasted by comparable US missile systems that are in development like the LRHW Dark Eagle and DARPA’s OpFires program aren’t even truly hypersonic – which “begins at Mach 6 or 7,” in the observer’s estimation.

Russia now has proven hypersonic capability with the Oreshnik, the Mach 10 Kinzhal missile system, and the Mach 27 Avangard hypersonic glider, fitted aboard Russian ICBMs including the UR-100N, Litovkin pointed out.

A Mach 10 flight speed means “the Oreshnik can cause significant damage not only using nuclear or conventional munitions, but also simply with its kinetic force. That is, the impact of the Oreshnik warhead is powerful enough to penetrate concrete, penetrate earth embankments and explode in a deep underground command post, an underground factory, etc. No Western missile has such properties – neither medium-range nor strategic missiles,” Litovkin said.

Veteran Russian military observer Dmitry Kornev echoed Litovkin’s assessment, telling Sputnik that while the Dark Eagle and OpFires are still “only undergoing trial operation, testing and development, the Oreshnik has been created, and created on the basis of tried and tested technologies and programs,” which greatly simplifies mass production.

Thursday’s test combat deployment of the Oreshnik against a military target in Dnepropetrovsk speaks to the fact that the new Russian missile system is ready for deployment, Kornev said.

“An element of intrigue here is that we don’t know how many missiles were used – whether it was one missile with these combat capabilities, meaning at least six warheads, or several missiles, which means serial production is probably already underway,” the observer explained.

President Putin confirmed as much at a meeting with defense officials in the Kremlin on Friday, saying Russia has a stockpile of Oreshniks, and that several similar systems are undergoing testing.

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Key European NATO bases in reach of Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic missile

In his remarks unveiling the Oreshnik missile system on Thursday, President Putin warned that Moscow reserves the right “to use our weapons against military facilities of those countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities.”

Here are some key NATO facilities in reach of Russia’s new hypersonic intermediate-range missile:

Eastern Europe

◾️ Poland:

🔸 Lask Air Base (home to permanent US Air Force detachment)

🔸 Forward Operating Sites Powidz, Zagan and Poznan (US Army weapons and equipment storage)

🔸 US Army Garrison Poland (V Corps Forward HQ), Poznan

🔸 Redzikowo Base (home to US Aegis Ashore missile defense site)

◾️ Latvia:

🔸 Selonia Military Training Area (the largest NATO training camp in the Baltic)

◾️ Lithuania:

🔸 Rudninkai Military Base (future home of Germany's first permanent base abroad; set to station some 5,000 Bundeswehr troops when completed)

◾️ Romania:

🔸 Deveselu Military Base (another Aegis Ashore site)

🔸 Mihail Kogalniceanu Military Base (NATO’s easternmost base in Europe, home to US Army Area Support Group Black Sea regional command)

◾️ Bulgaria:

🔸 Bezmer Air Base (key potential storage site for US long range aircraft)

🔸 Novo Selo Range (major NATO training base)

🔸 Graf Ignatievo Air Base

◾️ Kosovo:

🔸 Camp Bondsteel (set up in 1999 after the NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia and occupation of Kosovo. Largest US base in the Balkans) Northern Europe

◾️ Finland:

🔸 Mikkeli (future home of NATO Multi Corps Land Component Command HQ, 150 km from Russian border)

◾️ Sweden:

🔸 Karlskrona Naval Base (key to NATO calculations for establishing total control of the Baltic Sea)


Western Europe

◾️ Germany:

🔸 Ramstein Air Base (largest US and NATO air base in Europe, key to US operations in the region and the Middle East)

🔸 Spangdahlem Air Base

🔸 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen

🔸 Buchel Air Base (stores US nukes)

🔸 US Army Garrison Ansbach

🔸 US Army Garrison Bavaria

🔸 US Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz

🔸 US Army Garrison Stuttgart

🔸 US Army Garrison Wiesbaden

◾️ Belgium:

🔸 US Army Garrison Benelux

🔸 Kleine Brogel Air Base (stores US nukes)

◾️ Netherlands:

🔸 Volkel Air Base (stores US nukes)

◾️ Italy:

🔸 Aviano Air Base (stores US nukes)

🔸 Ghedi Air Base

🔸 Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily

🔸 Naval Support Activity Naples (HQ of US 6th Fleet)

🔸 US Army Garrison Italy

◾️ Greece:

🔸 Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Crete

◾️ UK:

🔸 Royal Air Force Lakenheath

🔸 Royal Air Force Mildenhall

🔸 Royal Air Force Alconbury/Molesworth

🔸 Royal Air Force Croughton, Fairford, Welford (common stopover for US strike and strategic bomber aircraft)

🔸 Royal Air Force High Wycombe (RAF HQ)

🔸 Portsmouth Naval Base (home to two-thirds of Royal Navy’s surface fleet)

◾️ Spain:

🔸 Rota Naval Base (permanent home to six US missile destroyers)

🔸 Moron Air Base

◾️ Portugal:

🔸 Lajes Air Base, Azores Islands (key NATO transatlantic logistical hub, targetable if Oreshnik can be redeployed from Astrakhan Region to new launch locations somewhere west of Moscow)

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US won’t recognize its mistake, uses IAEA as tool against Iran – Iranian professor

"Western countries from the very beginning violated the [Iran nuclear] deal and ultimately Trump tore up the deal," Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst and professor at Tehran University, told Sputnik. "So it is not Iran's fault that we are where we are today."

"But instead of accepting the fact that they are to blame, the West wants Iran to be under maximum-pressure sanctions," he added, with the aim of halting "many parts of its peaceful nuclear program."

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) ordered the use of advanced centrifuges on November 22 to step up the enrichment of uranium. That was in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) resolution condemning Tehran for "failing to cooperate" with the nuclear watchdog.

The motion submitted by the US, UK, France and Germany got 19 out of 35 votes on the IAEA Board of Governors. Russia, China and Burkina-Faso voted against, and 12 states abstained.

The AEOI denounced the resolution as "politically-motivated, unrealistic, and counterproductive," adding that technical and safety cooperation with the IAEA will continue, as in the past.

The pundit argued that Iran has not violated international law and has always operated within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and IAEA regulations.

"Iran does not have any intention to build a nuclear weapon," Marandi said, accusing the US of making the IAEA a tool of coercion.

By increasing the enrichment of uranium "the Iranians are sending a clear message to the West that they won't be intimidated and that if the West tries to use the IAEA to put pressure on Iran, Iran will make sure that Western countries pay a price for this," the professor stressed.

"The West is on the decline, but they continue to think that they dominate the world," he said. "They have always played a very negative role in our region."

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