According to Maluk, the operation to destroy the "Oreshnik" was a joint effort of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
“It was an extremely successful operation. The destruction occurred with full effectiveness. At that time, information about the mission was not public. Only the President of Ukraine and a few of his foreign colleagues were aware of it,” he added.
The head of the SBU also noted that the operation was conducted at a time when information about the "Oreshniks" was not available to the general public, and threats from Russia during that period were minimal. “If I remember correctly, this happened in the summer of 2023,” emphasized Maluk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after listening to Maluk's report, stated that according to intelligence information, Russian troops had three "Oreshniks," one of which had already been used, and another destroyed.
Oleg Ivashchenko, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, who was present at the meeting, added that Russia had at least one "Oreshnik" left. “We believe that up to three missiles were manufactured this year, and production of up to six is planned for each year,” noted Ivashchenko.
Zelensky also reminded about Russia's plans to deploy "Oreshniks" in Belarus. “As we understand, these systems have a range of approximately 5,000 kilometers, but there is a dead zone of 700 kilometers. This should raise concerns among European countries,” said the President of Ukraine.
In November 2024, Russian troops struck Dnipro using the experimental medium-range missile system "Oreshnik," which was launched from the Kapustin Yar range. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, this action was a response to the use of Western long-range missiles by the Ukrainian military. Later, Putin claimed that the mass use of "Oreshniks" would provide a strike power comparable to nuclear weapons.
Data on a possible strike on Kapustin Yar in the summer of 2023 is absent from open sources.
