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Miami Herald
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Russia's Neighbor Responds to Reports Oreshnik Missile Broke Down Midflight
Kazakh authorities are investigating the "appearance of unidentified objects in the sky," the country's defense ministry said said, after unverified footage widely circulated on social media claiming to show a botched launch of Moscow's experimental Oreshnik missile. Russia fired its Oreshnik missile for the first time at Ukraine in November, targeting a Ukrainian military site in the central city of Dnipro. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the missile as a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), able to travel long distances at 10 times the speed of sound, or Mach 10. Ukrainian authorities initially reported Moscow had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and had travelled up to Mach 11. The Pentagon later said the missile was modeled on Russia's RS-26 Rubezh ICBM. Moscow said the missile was impossible to intercept and able to carry nuclear warheads. Footage showed the missile carried six warheads which slammed into different targets close to one another in Dnipro. Ukraine on Sunday launched coordinated drone attacks on multiple Russian airbases across the country, with one official claiming to have destroyed 13 Russian aircraft. Other reports said as many as 41 aircraft were destroyed or damaged in the attack dubbed "Russia's Pearl Harbor' by pro-Moscow military bloggers. Satellite imagery from the Siberian air base of Belaya and Olenya, an Arctic base in Murmansk—just two of the bases targeted in "Operation Spiderweb"—showed several destroyed Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers. Ukraine has been anticipating a potent Russian response to the drone strikes on its airfields, former Ukrainian security service officer Ivan Stupak previously told Newsweek, suggesting Moscow could opt to launch one of its fearsome Oreshnik missiles. Pro-Ukrainian and Kremlin-supporting accounts speculated from late Thursday that footage widely shared online showed an Oreshnik missile malfunctioning over Kazakhstan, although the claims have been met with skepticism by analysts. Ukraine said in November the Oreshnik was fired from the Kapustin Yar range in Russia's Astrakhan region, immediately west of Kazakhstan and closer to Ukraine than the former Soviet republic. "The observed trajectory of the debris would be highly unusual for an IRBM launch against a target in Ukraine," making it unlikely to be an Oreshnik, Fabian Hoffmann, research fellow at the Oslo Nuclear Project at the University of Oslo, Norway, told Newsweek. The Kazakh Defense Ministry said late on Thursday the country's airspace had not been violated, adding relevant authorities were "studying this phenomenon and will provide clarification" about "unidentified objects in the sky." The clips circulating on social media show something "similar to the remains of debris from a spacecraft entering the atmosphere or a meteorite stream," the Kazakh government added. "As a rule, they all burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere, before reaching the earth's surface." Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry via email. Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, activating air alerts in all of Ukraine's regions, according to domestic media. Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia fired more than 400 drones and over 40 missiles — including ballistic missiles — at the country, injuring at least 49 people. Ukraine's state emergency service said three of its employees had been killed overnight. Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said four people had died in the capital. "An Oreshnik missile might have been added as a special demonstration of Russian strike power in response to the destruction of Russian bombers by Ukrainian drones," said David Hambling, a U.K.-based weapons and technology expert. "However, the evidence is all circumstantial, and the location and pattern of objects makes it difficult to confirm claims that this was an Oreshnik launched from the Kapustin Yar site in Astrakhan rather than or re-entering space debris, or simply a meteor," Hambling told Newsweek. Ukraine's military separately said on Friday it had struck Russia's Engels airbase and the Dyagilevo airfield in Ryazan overnight. Ukraine also targeted Dyagilevo in "Operation Spiderweb" on Sunday. The Kremlin targeted Ukrainian cities and civilians in retaliation for Kyiv's audacious drone raid on multiple Russian airbases on Sunday, Ukraine's foreignminister, Andrii Sybiha, said in a post to social media on Friday. Analyst David Hambling told Newsweek: "Whether this is a a failed Oreshnik or Russia lacks the resources or confidence to launch one, it shows that Russia has no good answer to Ukraine's highly effective drone strikes on their territory." Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to respond to Ukraine's large-scale drone strike on military aircraft, according to Donald Trump, though the nature and scale of such a response remains unclear. Related Articles Russia Reacts to Trump 'Young Children Fighting' CommentUkraine Braces for Putin's RetaliationWelcome to the Age of Dumb Kissinger | OpinionTrump Set to Square Off With New German Chancellor Merz on Trade, Ukraine 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Russia's Neighbor Responds to Reports Oreshnik Missile Broke Down Midflight
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Kazakh authorities are investigating the "appearance of unidentified objects in the sky," the country's defense ministry said said, after unverified footage widely circulated on social media claiming to show a botched launch of Moscow's experimental Oreshnik missile. Why It Matters Russia fired its Oreshnik missile for the first time at Ukraine in November, targeting a Ukrainian military site in the central city of Dnipro. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the missile as a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), able to travel long distances at 10 times the speed of sound, or Mach 10. Ukrainian authorities initially reported Moscow had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and had travelled up to Mach 11. The Pentagon later said the missile was modeled on Russia's RS-26 Rubezh ICBM. Moscow said the missile was impossible to intercept and able to carry nuclear warheads. Footage showed the missile carried six warheads which slammed into different targets close to one another in Dnipro. Unverified footage circulating on social media purports shows a Russian Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) malfunctioning over Kazakhstan, after Astana said it was ""studying this phenomenon." Unverified footage circulating on social media purports shows a Russian Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) malfunctioning over Kazakhstan, after Astana said it was ""studying this phenomenon." Tsaplienko/Telegram Ukraine on Sunday launched coordinated drone attacks on multiple Russian airbases across the country, with one official claiming to have destroyed 13 Russian aircraft. Other reports said as many as 41 aircraft were destroyed or damaged in the attack dubbed "Russia's Pearl Harbor' by pro-Moscow military bloggers. Satellite imagery from the Siberian air base of Belaya and Olenya, an Arctic base in Murmansk—just two of the bases targeted in "Operation Spiderweb"—showed several destroyed Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers. Ukraine has been anticipating a potent Russian response to the drone strikes on its airfields, former Ukrainian security service officer Ivan Stupak previously told Newsweek, suggesting Moscow could opt to launch one of its fearsome Oreshnik missiles. What To Know Pro-Ukrainian and Kremlin-supporting accounts speculated from late Thursday that footage widely shared online showed an Oreshnik missile malfunctioning over Kazakhstan, although the claims have been met with skepticism by analysts. Ukraine said in November the Oreshnik was fired from the Kapustin Yar range in Russia's Astrakhan region, immediately west of Kazakhstan and closer to Ukraine than the former Soviet republic. "The observed trajectory of the debris would be highly unusual for an IRBM launch against a target in Ukraine," making it unlikely to be an Oreshnik, Fabian Hoffmann, research fellow at the Oslo Nuclear Project at the University of Oslo, Norway, told Newsweek. The Kazakh Defense Ministry said late on Thursday the country's airspace had not been violated, adding relevant authorities were "studying this phenomenon and will provide clarification" about "unidentified objects in the sky." The clips circulating on social media show something "similar to the remains of debris from a spacecraft entering the atmosphere or a meteorite stream," the Kazakh government added. "As a rule, they all burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere, before reaching the earth's surface." Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry via email. Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, activating air alerts in all of Ukraine's regions, according to domestic media. Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia fired more than 400 drones and over 40 missiles — including ballistic missiles — at the country, injuring at least 49 people. Ukraine's state emergency service said three of its employees had been killed overnight. Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said four people had died in the capital. "An Oreshnik missile might have been added as a special demonstration of Russian strike power in response to the destruction of Russian bombers by Ukrainian drones," said David Hambling, a U.K.-based weapons and technology expert. "However, the evidence is all circumstantial, and the location and pattern of objects makes it difficult to confirm claims that this was an Oreshnik launched from the Kapustin Yar site in Astrakhan rather than or re-entering space debris, or simply a meteor," Hambling told Newsweek. Ukraine's military separately said on Friday it had struck Russia's Engels airbase and the Dyagilevo airfield in Ryazan overnight. Ukraine also targeted Dyagilevo in "Operation Spiderweb" on Sunday. What People Are Saying The Kremlin targeted Ukrainian cities and civilians in retaliation for Kyiv's audacious drone raid on multiple Russian airbases on Sunday, Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said in a post to social media on Friday. Analyst David Hambling told Newsweek: "Whether this is a a failed Oreshnik or Russia lacks the resources or confidence to launch one, it shows that Russia has no good answer to Ukraine's highly effective drone strikes on their territory." What Happens Next Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to respond to Ukraine's large-scale drone strike on military aircraft, according to Donald Trump, though the nature and scale of such a response remains unclear.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Operation Spiderweb: How Ukraine's Daring Top Secret Drone Assault Unfolded
As few as five people knew about Ukraine's audacious plans to attack thousands of miles into Russian territory as they were first formulated, suggested Ivan Stupak, a former officer in Ukraine's SBU security service. More than a year and a half later, Kyiv succeeded in carrying out what could be its most dramatic, highly coordinated drone assaults on Russia of the war. Ukraine on Sunday hit 41 of Russia's expensive, hard-to-replace warplanes in a meticulously timed operation across three different time zones, thousands of miles away from Ukrainian soil, officials said. Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Kyiv's national security and defense council, said on Monday that 13 Russian aircraft had been "destroyed." The drones were smuggled across the border, placed in wooden containers with removable roofs fixed on trucks. "At the right moment," the SBU said, "the roofs of the houses were remotely opened." The drones zipped away toward their targets, the agency said, homing in on Russia's nuclear-capable bombers and at least one of Moscow's A-50 spy planes. Russia is thought to have just a handful of these surveillance aircraft left. The drones left roughly $7 billion in damage in their wake, hitting more than a third of Moscow's strategic cruise missile carriers, Kyiv said. Russia called the operation a "terrorist attack." To deliver this hefty bill to Moscow in the operation known as "Spiderweb," information was tightly guarded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, personally oversaw the operation, preparations shepherded by SBU chief, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk. "To pull off a complex special operation, security must be very strict," said Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with the Dutch research organization, TNO. "Not just within your own ranks, but especially when communicating about it with others," he told Newsweek. "This must be measured against a 'need to know', both militarily and politically, but the less people know about it, the better, as chances of leaks grow exponentially with every party that is informed." Kyiv has publicly admitted to attacking four Russian airfields — the Olenya airbase in the Murmansk region of northwestern Russia, the Ivanovo airbase northeast of Moscow, Dyagilevo in the Ryazan region, and Belaya, a military facility 2,500 miles from Ukraine in Siberia. Russia, in a statement, said Ukraine had attacked airfields in Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo and Ryazan, as well as a base in the far eastern Amur region, bordering China. A spokesperson for the SBU declined to comment when approached about strikes on the Ukrainka air base, a long-range aviation hub in Amur. Amur Regional Governor Vasily Orlov, said part of a truck had "caught fire" close to the village of Seryshevo, but denied the Ukrainka air base was targeted by drones. The Ukrainka base sits just outside of Seryshevo. Each of the 117 drones used to attack Russia's air bases on Sunday had its own operator, Zelensky said. All those who helped Kyiv execute the Spiderweb operation were pulled out of Russia before the drones flew, the president added. The main base in Russian territory where the operation was masterminded was "directly next to" an FSB regional headquarters, Zelensky added. Russia's FSB domestic security agency is the main descendent of the Soviet-era KGB. Russia's government said "some of the participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained." The drone strikes came on the eve of fresh rounds of face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey. Initial discussions last month produced the largest prisoner swap of the war, but little shuffling toward a peace deal that U.S President Donald Trump vowed to broker. The strikes on Russia help Ukraine "negotiate from a position of strength," Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek on Monday. The White House was not told in advance of the drones zooming toward the airfields, CBS News reported, citing anonymous administration officials. Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon and State Department via email. Moscow had upped the intensity of its missile and drone strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks, drawing sharp rebuke from Trump, who is disinclined to overly criticize the Kremlin. Ukraine, meanwhile, has grappled with a chronic shortage of air defense systems, and the interceptor missiles they fire to shield key sites and the country's population. Ukraine's air force said on Monday Russia had launched overnight strikes on several Ukrainian regions, including the Chernihiv region northeast of Kyiv, with 80 drones, three hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles and a cruise missile. A total of 52 drones were shot down or knocked off course by electronic warfare, the air force said. Ukraine is anticipating a potent Russian response to the drone strikes on its airfields, Stupak told Newsweek, suggesting Moscow could opt to launch one of its experimental Oreshnik missiles. Russia fired an Oreshnik missile for the first time at Ukraine in November 2024, striking the central city of Dnipro. Ukrainian authorities initially reported Russia had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), while Moscow described the missile as a hypersonic, intermediate-range weapon. The Pentagon said at the time the Oreshnik, or "hazel tree," was based on the design of Moscow's RS-26 Rubezh ICBM, and the U.S. was notified "briefly before the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels." Related Articles Russian Aviation's Darkest Hour Since WWII Gets 40-Second TV News SlotSatellite Images Show Aftermath of 'Pearl Harbor' Strike on RussiaUkraine and Russia Hold Urgent Peace Talks After Deadly Attacks: Live UpdatesRussia's Pearl Harbor: Putin Dealt 'Serious Loss' in Stand Off with NATO 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Operation Spiderweb: How Ukraine's Daring Top Secret Drone Assault Unfolded
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. As few as five people knew about Ukraine's audacious plans to attack thousands of miles into Russian territory as they were first formulated, suggested Ivan Stupak, a former officer in Ukraine's SBU security service. More than a year and a half later, Kyiv succeeded in carrying out what could be its most dramatic, highly coordinated drone assaults on Russia of the war. Ukraine on Sunday hit 41 of Russia's expensive, hard-to-replace warplanes in a meticulously timed operation across three different time zones, thousands of miles away from Ukrainian soil, officials said. Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Kyiv's national security and defense council, said on Monday that 13 Russian aircraft had been "destroyed." The drones were smuggled across the border, placed in wooden containers with removable roofs fixed on trucks. A Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bomber strikes Islamic State targets in Syria on November 26, 2017. A Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bomber strikes Islamic State targets in Syria on November 26, 2017. AP Photo/ Russian Defense Ministry Press Service "At the right moment," the SBU said, "the roofs of the houses were remotely opened." The drones zipped away toward their targets, the agency said, homing in on Russia's nuclear-capable bombers and at least one of Moscow's A-50 spy planes. Russia is thought to have just a handful of these surveillance aircraft left. The drones left roughly $7 billion in damage in their wake, hitting more than a third of Moscow's strategic cruise missile carriers, Kyiv said. Russia called the operation a "terrorist attack." To deliver this hefty bill to Moscow in the operation known as "Spiderweb," information was tightly guarded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, personally oversaw the operation, preparations shepherded by SBU chief, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk. "To pull off a complex special operation, security must be very strict," said Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with the Dutch research organization, TNO. "Not just within your own ranks, but especially when communicating about it with others," he told Newsweek. "This must be measured against a 'need to know', both militarily and politically, but the less people know about it, the better, as chances of leaks grow exponentially with every party that is informed." Kyiv has publicly admitted to attacking four Russian airfields — the Olenya airbase in the Murmansk region of northwestern Russia, the Ivanovo airbase northeast of Moscow, Dyagilevo in the Ryazan region, and Belaya, a military facility 2,500 miles from Ukraine in Siberia. Russia, in a statement, said Ukraine had attacked airfields in Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo and Ryazan, as well as a base in the far eastern Amur region, bordering China. A spokesperson for the SBU declined to comment when approached about strikes on the Ukrainka air base, a long-range aviation hub in Amur. Amur Regional Governor Vasily Orlov, said part of a truck had "caught fire" close to the village of Seryshevo, but denied the Ukrainka air base was targeted by drones. The Ukrainka base sits just outside of Seryshevo. Each of the 117 drones used to attack Russia's air bases on Sunday had its own operator, Zelensky said. All those who helped Kyiv execute the Spiderweb operation were pulled out of Russia before the drones flew, the president added. The main base in Russian territory where the operation was masterminded was "directly next to" an FSB regional headquarters, Zelensky added. Russia's FSB domestic security agency is the main descendent of the Soviet-era KGB. Russia's government said "some of the participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained." The drone strikes came on the eve of fresh rounds of face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey. Initial discussions last month produced the largest prisoner swap of the war, but little shuffling toward a peace deal that U.S President Donald Trump vowed to broker. The strikes on Russia help Ukraine "negotiate from a position of strength," Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek on Monday. The White House was not told in advance of the drones zooming toward the airfields, CBS News reported, citing anonymous administration officials. Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon and State Department via email. Moscow had upped the intensity of its missile and drone strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks, drawing sharp rebuke from Trump, who is disinclined to overly criticize the Kremlin. Ukraine, meanwhile, has grappled with a chronic shortage of air defense systems, and the interceptor missiles they fire to shield key sites and the country's population. Ukraine's air force said on Monday Russia had launched overnight strikes on several Ukrainian regions, including the Chernihiv region northeast of Kyiv, with 80 drones, three hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles and a cruise missile. A total of 52 drones were shot down or knocked off course by electronic warfare, the air force said. Ukraine is anticipating a potent Russian response to the drone strikes on its airfields, Stupak told Newsweek, suggesting Moscow could opt to launch one of its experimental Oreshnik missiles. Russia fired an Oreshnik missile for the first time at Ukraine in November 2024, striking the central city of Dnipro. Ukrainian authorities initially reported Russia had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), while Moscow described the missile as a hypersonic, intermediate-range weapon. The Pentagon said at the time the Oreshnik, or "hazel tree," was based on the design of Moscow's RS-26 Rubezh ICBM, and the U.S. was notified "briefly before the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels."
Metro
29-05-2025
- Metro
How a new 'double-edge sword' weapon is changing warfare in Ukraine
A new kind of weapon is flying under radars – literally – on the battlefield in Ukraine. Electronic warfare, specifically jamming, is a crucial tactic used by Russian and Ukrainian forces in killing off kamikaze drones, responsible for deadly strikes. Forces on both sides have figured out a way to make their drones immune to jamming – a thin strand of fibre optic connecting the aircraft to its pilot. Deploying fibre optic drones has its advantages – it protects from jamming, allowing them to carry explosives to enemy lines. It is also inexpensive in comparison with other weapons. Yet, that same strength could also be a major liability. Ivan Stupak, a military expert and ex- officer in Ukraine's security services, told Metro that the very same cable making the drone immune to jamming can also be traced to the launch site. It is a double-edged sword, but Ukrainian forces are coming up with ways to swerve such disasters. Stupak said: 'The massive side effect in launching fibre optic drones from one current position toward your enemy – so from point A to point B – is that it leaves a trace. The cable itself. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Let's say, you have launched fibre optic drones several times today. 'The number of cables become significant, and sooner or later your enemy will discover your position. 'Many Russian and Ukrainian positions have been eliminated like this in the past.' Stupak explained there are several rules Ukrainian forces adhere to – never launch from command centres and always launch from multiple positions. He said about this 'method of secrecy': 'It is more useful to switch your position, not to use constantly one launching site to deploy your drones. 'You have to move constantly from one point to another in the field.' Soldiers on armoured vehicles also follow the drones, which have a range of up to 12 miles, to cut the cables. Stupak stressed that fibre optic drones are 'not a final solution,' adding that the operation is 'very complicated' and it changes all the time. Russian electronic warfare, locally referred to as 'Black Magic', uses a wide range of equipment to block GPS and GSM signals. They are actively used to disable drones, to set false targets on the radars of air defence systems, to change the flight path of missiles. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Stupak revealed that Ukraine is working on technology to detect Russian fibre optic drones, but so far they remain immune to electronic warfare. More Trending In the meantime, Ukrainian forces are using nets – similar to those used for fishing – to catch fibre optic drones. The expert said: 'To prevent equipment being destroyed by the drones, the army establishes special corridors built with a net. 'The idea is that every drone would get entangled in this net, and it will not hurt you or your transport.' Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: UK to train hackers to get revenge on Putin's cyber attacks MORE: Putin threats to 'throttle' US firms like Microsoft and Zoom in words war with Trump MORE: British missiles could soon be used against Putin deep into his own territory
