It was confirmed to have been deployed for the first time in November 2024 in an attack on a Ukrainian defence manufacturing facility in Dnipro.
Asked whether Russia could reach other areas of Europe in a war scenario, Dandykin told the outlet: “I don’t think much will be needed. But seriously, I think it’s time for our ‘Oreshnik’ to come out on stage again.
“And during the period of this ultimatum, I think our ‘defence industry’ is not sleeping and has already produced enough missiles.”
On July 14, following a state visit by NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, Donald Trump laid down the ultimatum for Putin, citing his intensifying attacks across Ukraine in recent months.
“My conversations with him [Putin] are always very pleasant… and then the missiles go off at night,” Trump told reporters, adding the US was “going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they’ll be sent to NATO.”
Former Russian president, Dimitry Medvedev called the threat “theatrical”, adding that “Russia didn’t care”.
June proved to be the bloodiest month for Ukrainian civilians since Russia began its invasion in February 2022, with 232 confirmed deaths and 1,343 more injured.
In the same month, Putin confirmed production of the Oreshnik missile, which can strike targets in Europe and the western US up to 3,415 miles away, would be ramped up as his military forces appear to focus on civilian targets further away from the frontline.
The 72-year-old leader boasted the nuclear-capable weapon was ‘impossible to intercept’, though Western intelligence has doubted this claim.
Russian missile and drone strikes against Ukraine have risen by 605%, according to NBC, since the beginning of 2025, with production of the latter aerial combat device being stepped up as Russia winds down Iranian imports.
Dandykin also responded to the recent leak in which Trump reportedly tells a fundraising audience he warned his Russian counterpart, Putin, that he would “bomb the sh*t out of Moscow”.
Asked whether Russia might respond to these threats, the army captain said: “Even before Trump’s so-called ultimatum, our president made it clear: ‘either Russia will be free and sovereign, or it will not exist at all’.”
Dandykin continued, adding that the ‘best decision’ would be for the US to ‘present an ultimatum’ to the ‘guardians’ of Kyiv.
“They don’t abandon their scoundrels until they’ve squeezed them dry – they won’t calm down.”
