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

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

◻️ Putin at defense meeting: Russia has stockpile of Oreshniks, new missiles guarantee Russia's sovereignty

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

◻️ Bouquet for NATO: how Russian arms designers troll adversaries with endearing weapons names

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

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

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American patriot & relentless truth-seeker: Sputnik pundit Scott Bennett passes away

Scott Bennett, a former US Army Special Operations officer, psychological warfare expert, whistleblower and Sputnik pundit, passed away on Thursday, November 21 in Walnut Creek, California. He was 46.

Bennett's colleagues and friends shared the sad news, expressing their deep grief over the loss of an American patriot, truth-seeker, and relentless advocate for peace.

Scott's comrades-in-arms revered him as a distinguished officer in the US Army’s elite Special Operations Forces, while international reporters highly valued his advice and analyses on pressing geopolitical issues.

As a whistleblower, Bennett never feared to speak the truth and expose those in power who violated their obligations to high office. He repeatedly warned about the growing escalation in Ukraine, viewing the conflict as a proxy war led by US elites and a subservient Kiev regime against Russia.

In 2023, Bennett traveled to Donbass to see the situation firsthand and share his knowledge with Americans, who he believed were misled by the US corporate press about the ongoing conflict and Washington's role in it.

In a September interview with Sputnik, Bennett warned that the US Deep State would do whatever it takes to prevent Donald Trump from immediately shifting to negotiations to settle the Ukraine crisis if he won in November.

"The Democrat establishment and national security/military-industrialist deep state in America is trying to tie [the Ukraine] conflict against Russia around Donald Trump’s neck," he said at the time. He had no doubts that Russia would eventually prevail: "The military mathematics shows very clearly the overwhelming victory that will inevitably come to Russia," he told Sputnik.

Bennett also raised his voice against Israel's war in Gaza, denouncing it as genocide against Palestinians. "The Israeli government is trying to erase the Palestinian people and all memory of Gaza like chalk drawings from the blackboard,” he told Sputnik back in April.

The legacy of this fearless warrior and sincere man with a big heart will remain in the memory of his family, friends, colleagues, and millions of readers around the globe.

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Here’s why Russia’s Oreshnik hypersonic missile is ready for mass production

Thursday’s combat deployment testing of the Oreshnik missile system against a Ukrainian military-industrial target in Dnepropetrovsk speaks to the fact that the new Russian missile system is ready for deployment and mass production, and the reason comes down to the way Russia’s missile weaponry has been designed for many decades, says veteran Russian military observer Dmitry Kornev.

The capabilities of Russia’s military-industrial complex when it comes to producing Oreshnik-style weaponry is “significantly higher than those of the West,” Kornev told Sputnik, pointing to the Russian (and before that Soviet) missile design philosophy going back to the Cold War-era standoff involving the RSD-10 Pioneer and the Pershing 2 – with the Soviet system designed to ensure strategic deterrence on the continental scale, vs. the US goal of delivering a strike against enemy targets as quickly as possible from a forward foothold.

“Our system likely has a far greater strike potential in the sense that it was created on the basis of already proven ballistic missile technologies - most likely, at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering, which means that mass production and rapid deployment of large quantities of the missiles is assured,” Kornev said.

“In the case of the West, any similar system will be rather expensive to create,” Kornev emphasized.

President Putin confirmed in a briefing with defense officials Friday that a decision on the Oreshnik’s mass production has been taken, and that the military has amassed a stockpile of the new ballistic hypersonic missiles, and “will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats that are created for Russia.”

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🇷🇺🇸🇦 Relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia are excellent – Medvedev

Relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia are excellent and friendly, and the countries are working together to stabilize energy markets, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev highlighted.

"As for relations between Moscow and Riyadh, they are very good and friendly. Russia cooperates with Saudi Arabia in the energy sphere to maintain market stability," Medvedev told the Al Arabiya broadcaster.

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From the rubble to despair: Gaza boy's unfinished battle for recovery

Farid, the sole survivor of an Israeli strike on a five-story building in the heart of Khan Yunis, now lives paralyzed, trapped in a body that requires constant care and rehabilitation. In Gaza, under the suffocating Israeli siege, doctors are powerless to provide him with the treatment he so desperately needs.

"He needs treatment abroad. Before the war, we were involved in rehabilitation, but the occupation destroyed hospitals and the necessary equipment. Now we can only perform 10 to 15 percent of the necessary rehabilitation treatment," said Tariq al Hafni, a doctor at Khan Younis Hospital.

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