On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s new intermediate-range ballistic missile, known as Oreshnik, is set to be ready for operational deployment by year’s end.

The missile, which translates to “hazel tree” in Russian, was first publicly disclosed in November 2024 after being utilized in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

Putin characterized that operation as a successful test and framed the missile’s initial deployment in combat as a signal to the United States and the United Kingdom, especially as they contemplated supplying Ukraine with advanced long-range weaponry capable of reaching deep into Russian territory.

Last month, Putin indicated that Russia had commenced the pathway to mass producing the Oreshnik, having earlier claimed its destructive capacity was on par with nuclear armaments and asserting it was invulnerable to interception—claims that have drawn skepticism from some experts.

“By the year’s end, the new medium-range missile system featuring the hypersonic missile Oreshnik will be operational,” Putin stated during a significant military gathering in Moscow on Wednesday.

Russia also plans to station the missile in neighboring Belarus, which shares borders with both Ukraine and NATO countries. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko mentioned last month that the Oreshnik would become operational there by late 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the missile’s range could pose a threat to Europe, urging Western nations to consider sanctions against the Russian firms involved in its development.