“The ‘Oreshnik’ strike was an operation ‘aimed at future negotiations on European security”, – Russian military expert

The strike on the Yuzhmash plant in Dnipro using the “Oreshnik” missile was an action “calculated with future negotiations on European security in mind”.

This information reported according to Russian military expert Valery Shiryaev.

He claimed that this strike was unrelated to the situation in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“This has nothing to do with the front lines [in Ukraine] or the positioning of troops… This is a weapon that covers the entire NATO territory—however many countries there are—except for the United States and Canada,” Shiryaev stated, adding that the missile’s range extends “as far as Edinburgh.”

Shiryaev suggested that the “Oreshnik” is based on the medium-range S-20 *Pioneer* missiles, which were banned under the 1987 treaty. He noted that during the Soviet era, launch sites for the *Pioneer* were already prepared in Belarus, where the “Oreshnik” could now be deployed. From there, the missile could deliver a “first disarming strike” against the nuclear complexes of France and Britain.

The expert described Russia’s decision to develop the “Oreshnik” as a response to U.S. plans to deploy *Tomahawk* missiles—also medium-range—in Europe. He also claimed that the U.S. has already tested its own “Oreshnik-like” missile with a range of 3,000 kilometers, compared to the Russian missile’s range of 5,000–6,000 kilometers.

Shiryaev warned that the deployment of such missiles on both sides would increase the threat of nuclear war, as it would leave the parties “less than five minutes to decide whether to retaliate” if one of these weapons were launched.

“Perhaps we will witness new negotiations and a new phase of disarmament—at least for Europe. Let them [the U.S.] deploy these missiles against China instead, but Europe should remain a clean continent free of such weapons,” Shiryaev concluded.