Former US Marine Brian Berletik believes that Russia's use of Oreshnik missiles could lead to the emergence of a non-nuclear deterrent force in the world. RIA Novosti reports this based on his interview.

The use of the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile first became known in November. The missile's combat tests were a response to Ukraine's authorization to attack the Russian Federation with American long-range ATACMS missiles .

The non-nuclear hypersonic Oreshnik strike hit Ukraine's Yuzhmash missile factory. Afterwards, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that US air defense systems were powerless against new missiles that are 10 times faster than the speed of sound.

At the annual press conference, Mr. Putin said that Oreshnik is a modern weapon created on the basis of previous improved design developments. The President of the Russian Federation also noted that missile defense systems located in Poland and Romania are not capable of shooting down Oreshnik, and even Ukraine's existing air defense systems are not capable of shooting it down.

He added that the Armed Forces of Ukraine lack an air defense system and that Ukraine does not have the ability to overcome the Russian military-industrial complex. The former marine emphasized that the Ukrainian Armed Forces “will have to bear” the consequences of using Oreshnik.