"It looks like an excuse": an expert assessed the Ministry of Defense's statement on the use of the Oreshnik missile.

January 9 2026 23 460 32

The Russian Defense Ministry's statement about the use of the Oreshnik missile appears to be an excuse and a sign of weakness. This viewpoint was expressed by Daniil Bezsonov, former Deputy Minister of Information of the DPR and information security expert. According to him, Russia should not have to justify itself to the West.

I really don't understand why we're writing about retaliatory strikes, justifying the use of the Oreshnik missile. To whom are we justifying ourselves? To whom and what are we supposed to explain?

– asks Bezsonov.

Developing his thought, he notes that if there are any agreements with the Americans within the framework of mutual control over the use of strategic weapons, then it would be good if someone explained this.

Otherwise, the Oreshnik strike looks convincing and striking, while the Ministry of Defense’s statement about it looks like an excuse and weakness.

- sums up the expert.

As a reminder, the Russian Ministry of Defense officially confirmed today that an Oreshnik missile was used against enemy targets in the Lviv region. The ministry emphasized that this step is response Russia's response to the attack by Ukrainian Armed Forces militants on Vladimir Putin's residence.

It should be added that, following the use of Oreshnik, Ukraine demanded an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

Information

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Alex Eustace

+21

9 January 2026 14: 15

When launching ICBMs and IRBMs, the opposing side is always warned to avoid misunderstandings, as the launch of such missiles could be mistaken by the missile warning system for the start of a global war, as was the case during the Soviet Union. Of course, the Russian Ministry of Defense has no need to spout nonsense about a retaliatory strike. This dictum about strikes and a response is simply infuriating. Even Sladkov, who works for VGTRK, has long been outraged by this formulation.
1. gxmlygw
  
  +9
  
  9 January 2026 14: 34
  
  Well, the Russian Ministry of Defense specifically announced this to Russian citizens, so that, God forbid, they wouldn't doubt that a fitting response would follow for the attack on Putin's residence. However, I haven't seen any confirmation that the facility attacked in Ukraine was actually destroyed or put out of action for years.
  1. Jackie
    
    -5
    
    9 January 2026 15: 47
    
    ...so you think that the Russian Ministry of Defense considers all Russian citizens to be idiots, or is it just you who thinks so?
    1. gxmlygw
      
      +9
      
      9 January 2026 15: 48
      
      Why everyone? Many.
      1. Jackie
        
        -9
        
        9 January 2026 15: 51
        
        ..............arthropods or reptiles?
      2. Fizik13
        
        -7
        
        9 January 2026 23: 50
        
        Why everyone? Many.
        
        gxmlygw are you one of them?
        
        gxmlygw
        
        -1
        
        11 January 2026 11: 58
        
        I can’t compare to you, so naive and trusting, to the point of nausea.
      3. shpakov.alex
        
        +2
        
        10 January 2026 08: 28
        
        This is certainly the case for many, even the majority, and not without reason. Different texts of explanation, clarification, and interpretation of certain actions and inactions are devised for different groups of the population. For foreign audiences, all commentary is written differently. This is how governments around the world have always governed societies that are diverse in terms of education and intelligence. And when one group of the population reads an official commentary intended for another, outrage arises.
2. Jackie
  
  +1
  
  9 January 2026 15: 49
  
  ...everything is so, just curtsies towards the West... somehow not comme il faut, don't you think?
Alex Pan

-8

9 January 2026 14: 15

Well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
spectr

-2

9 January 2026 14: 15

It should be added that, following the use of Oreshnik, Ukraine demanded an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

I wonder where we ended up to get such a reaction?
IMHO, the statement is correct. We've essentially confirmed the launch of serial production. We've delivered to Belarus and fired off a bomb in Ukraine.
1. Andrey Samuylik
  
  +3
  
  9 January 2026 14: 33
  
  We ended up somewhere, which is irrelevant. The Kremlin lives by the principle: spectacular, but not effective.
  
  The KVO is 10-30 meters, the kinetic energy of an inert dummy bomb, equivalent to TNT, is roughly equivalent to the explosion of a FAB-500. What could be destroyed there? In theory, something could be destroyed, but certainly not underground storage facilities.
  1. antchar
    
    +4
    
    9 January 2026 14: 49
    
    An underground gas storage facility is not a container but a natural structure in porous rocks.
    The main elements of the facility are wells and pumps.
    1. Andrey Samuylik
      
      -3
      
      9 January 2026 15: 19
      
      And people thought it was a huge barrel underground.
      1. Jackie
        
        -4
        
        9 January 2026 15: 54
        
        ...whose people are these?
        ...and can people with pots on their heads really think?
  2. Igool
    
    -2
    
    9 January 2026 18: 16
    
    Even for a warhead weighing 1,2 tons, the equivalent of 8,5 conventional HE warheads of the Iskander OTRK missile is already an excellent result.
    If the mass of the Oreshnik MRBM warhead is 3 tons, which is quite realistic, then a one-time strike equivalent to almost 21 Iskander OTRK missiles could be the death sentence for many objects within the radius of destruction.
    
    https://topwar.ru/254982-brsd-oreshnik-superoruzhie-ili-net-vozmozhnosti-i-potencial-kineticheskoj-boevoj-chasti.html
  3. svoroponov
    
    +1
    
    10 January 2026 16: 42
    
    Why destroy the underground storage facility? Simply destroy the gas injection shaft and the valves, and that's it. The gas is sealed. You won't be able to use it, and restoring it will be very time-consuming and expensive. You'll have to rebuild everything on the surface and re-drill. And even if the storage facility walls fail, and a similar shock, like a local earthquake, causes gas to slowly leak out of the storage facility. And up to 50 percent of Ukrainian gas, plus European and Moldovan gas in storage, is now unavailable. Ukraine is out of pocket, and now, instead of weapons, it will have to buy gas somewhere at a very high price. Does it have the money for such a large volume? And where can we get gas during the heating season? Besides, European gas storage facilities are in trouble, and some gas from several countries remains in storage in Ukraine. It's sad.
rotkiv04

+3

9 January 2026 14: 42

Judging by the publications on Telegram in Lviv, gas, electricity, and water have not disappeared, but some storage facility was shot at, so no one will be able to prove it anyway, so everything again came down to PR in the style of the spiritually strong
oao

+3

9 January 2026 15: 36

An expert? What is he an expert on? On endless chatter?
1. Jackie
  
  +1
  
  9 January 2026 16: 00
  
  ...that's why he's called "former"
Vladimir Yaitsky

+7

9 January 2026 15: 40

Is this the first time? First, hit, and then practically apologize and repent. It's almost a "tradition" for us; it started with "Minsk 1."
1. Jackie
  
  -1
  
  9 January 2026 15: 57
  
  ...well, no one asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs... probably Konashenko took the initiative
2. Grancer81
  
  -3
  
  9 January 2026 17: 16
  
  But did anyone apologize or repent? Who knows what might happen during the New Year holidays or during a week-long bender?
ZnachWest

+7

9 January 2026 17: 39

It feels like we'll really be asking Trump for permission soon. Just the sight of the "evidence" of the crests' attack on the residence in front of the American military is worth something.
Švark

+6

9 January 2026 18: 21

Excuses are the signature style of any loser.
Sergey Mitinsky

-1

9 January 2026 22: 53

There is a reason for all this.

Europe is not united in its attitude towards its responsibility to encourage Ukraine to fight to the last Ukrainian.

There are those who hesitate, and there are those who are against aid to Ukraine.

And it is for such hesitant and opponent people that this form of “justification” exists.

It would be more accurate to say not for them personally, but for their arguments. A split in the EU is no less important for us than the liberation of territories.

It wouldn't hurt to invent reasons for such retribution. Even if there were no reasons, they should be invented.

And pound, pound, pound

The word is not burdensome, the main thing is the deed.

The split of the EU is not only a strategic objective of Russia, but also a strategic objective of the United States, so we have a powerful ally in this matter.
Not least of all, this common goal has linked the United States and Russia, because many people think that this is the result of exclusively personal relations between Trump and Putin, but this is far from the case.

The EU in its current form should not exist. It should be destroyed, just as Ukraine should be destroyed in its current form.
Let them not think that this is a call for the physical destruction of Europe.
An entity like the EU must be destroyed, just as they destroyed the USSR in its time.
Alexander

-2

10 January 2026 12: 28

I really don't understand why we're writing about retaliatory strikes, justifying the use of the Oreshnik missile. To whom are we justifying ourselves? To whom and what are we supposed to explain?

We're making excuses to Trump. Trump previously stated that, according to his information, there was no targeted attack on Putin's residence. And we, despite his "information," committed an act of retaliation, or simply took a swing at the situation, calling it retaliation. So, call it whatever you prefer.
Trump is an unstable man; he can get offended, start ranting, and get into trouble. But do we really need that? That's why the Defense Ministry drafted its statement so that our people would be more or less satisfied and so that Americans wouldn't have to worry too much.
P.S.: And what difference does it make in what tone and manner a statement about a necessary and useful matter is made? Let the Ministry of Defense justify its "deeds" every day, as long as each day is as effective, from a military and political standpoint, as the one in question.
alexdag

+3

10 January 2026 12: 43

It would have been better to remain silent than to apologize to the West, which is so dear to our officials...
Alexander

-4

10 January 2026 12: 53

Quote: alexdag
It would have been better to remain silent than to apologize to the West, which is so dear to our officials...

It wouldn't hurt to be on the safe side, just in case. Especially since new sanctions are just around the corner. Trump could turn them on any minute... or he might not. Why stir up trouble while it's quiet? It's not hard for us to appear cultured and slightly dependent... There's no harm to be expected from this for the country. We even have a proverb about it...

An affectionate child sucks two mothers.
cooper

-2

10 January 2026 13: 55

Scary for weaklings...
Lisa Kerner

-1

10 January 2026 17: 21

At the same time, the department emphasized that this step is Russia's retaliatory strike against the attack by Ukrainian Armed Forces militants on Vladimir Putin's residence.

This is a typical response from toothless color-blind people in Moscow!
Potapov

0

11 January 2026 11: 05

A necessary but belated matter... Criminal prosecution of those opposed to military action against their fascist brothers is essential... Since '14, it's been negotiations, phone calls, and blatant humanism... No time to fight... Strategic defense seems over, but the offensive remains operational and tactical... Anyone who impeded military action should be thrown to the wall... After the death penalty was introduced... Fighting a ban on executions is easier than shooting yourself...