Russia Fires Oreshnik Missiles From Run-Down Znamensk
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Kapustin Yar test range in southeastern Russia has been the launch site for all three Oreshnik missile strikes on Ukraine, sitting near the closed town of Znamensk (roughly 30,000 residents) about 700 miles east of Kyiv.
- Oreshnik missiles carry an estimated $40-80 million price tag, and the May 24 attack used roughly 90 missiles and hundreds of drones — totaling about $1 billion in weaponry, per political scientist Oleg Saakyan speaking to Russian outlet Vot Tak.
- The Oreshnik strikes on a garage complex near Kyiv produced no visible explosive flashes, with UN Institute for Disarmament Research senior researcher Pavel Podvig stating "It appears that none of those projectiles have any explosive in them."
- Znamensk is a "closed administrative-territorial area" requiring advance registration or special passes; residents told the source the Oreshnik program is classified, with one local businesswoman saying "That is a military secret. Nobody knows where they are stationed."
- Ukraine keeps the Kapustin Yar range under constant surveillance and has launched repeated drone strikes at the site, but apart from a few fires has so far failed to cause significant damage — the site lies several hundred kilometers from the Ukrainian border, giving civilians only minutes to take cover.
- Russia has leased parts of western Kazakhstan as an extension of Kapustin Yar, with the contract running through 2030, and local Kazakhs bear the consequences of that arrangement.
Why it matters: Russia has fired three Oreshnik missiles at Ukraine from Kapustin Yar, each costing $40-80 million, while the 30,000-resident closed town of Znamensk remains dilapidated with unpaved roads and abandoned houses. With total May 24 attack costs estimated at $1 billion for strikes causing minimal damage, the spending pattern shows Moscow allocating enormous resources to symbolic weapons rather than functional battlefield arms.
Ask SkimNews
