Andrey Kartapolov, head of Russia’s State Duma Defense Committee, suggested on March 11 that Russia should consider launching the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine in response to what appears to be the largest Ukrainian drone attack since the start of the full-scale war.
Kartapolov stated, “The decision is up to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (Russian President Vladimir Putin), but I think it would not be unreasonable (to launch the Oreshnik), better even more than one,” according to Russian state-owned news agency TASS.
His comments followed reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense, which claimed that its air defense systems intercepted a total of 337 drones across multiple regions, with 74 drones reportedly shot down as they approached Moscow. In contrast, Ukraine’s Air Force reported intercepting 79 of the 126 Russian drones, along with one Iskander-M ballistic missile, during the same night. Russia regularly conducts missile, drone, and guided bomb strikes against Ukraine.
Russia previously used the Oreshnik missile in November 2024, striking Dnipro in response to Ukraine’s use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles to target a military site in Russia. President Vladimir Putin described the Oreshnik strike as retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western long-range weapons on Russian soil.
While Putin has announced plans for mass production of the Oreshnik, a U.S. official told the Kyiv Independent that Russia likely has only a small number of these experimental missiles. Following the November strike, the Moscow Times reported that the Kremlin launched a media campaign around the attack, claiming it was designed to intimidate the West and deter further arms deliveries to Ukraine.
