For the third time in Russia’s war against Ukraine, it recently launched the nuclear-capable missile Oreshnik. This intermediate-range ballistic missile has been deployed against Ukrainian cities on two other notable occasions, striking Dnipro in November 2024 and Lviv in early 2026. In each of these launches, Vladimir Putin’s highly touted weapon carried no nuclear warhead. The latest alleged target was Kyiv, in May 2026, but the third Oreshnik landed some 80 kilometres to the south, in the sma