Hypersonic weapons like Russia’s Oreshnik missile present a formidable challenge to existing missile defense systems. However, defenses capable of intercepting them do exist.

Russian Deputy Anatoly Wasserman claims that Vladimir Putin has a secret weapon that remains unknown to the public. According to this Russian propagandist, the new Oreshnik missile, launched on November 21st at the Ukrainian Dnieper,

Hours after the strike, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a TV address, said that Russia had launched a "new conventional intermediate-range" missile with the codename Oreshnik, meaning hazel tree in Russian.