11:22 09-01-2026

Oreshnik Missile Strike Targets Gas Storage in Lvov Region

Analysis of a Russian Oreshnik missile strike in Lvov Region, reportedly targeting Ukraine’s largest underground gas storage facility, with details on speed and capabilities.

A Russian medium-range ballistic missile known as Oreshnik may have been aimed at a major underground gas storage facility in Lvov Region, according to military correspondent Alexander Kots.

Based on video footage from Lvov, Kots assessed that the likely target was the Bilche-Volytsko-Ugerskoye underground gas storage facility. He noted that its design capacity stands at 17.05 billion cubic meters, which accounts for more than half of Ukraine’s total gas storage capacity. Such a facility, he suggested, represents a strategically significant piece of energy infrastructure.

Referring to data released by Ukraine’s Western Air Command, Kots pointed out that the missile’s speed during the strike reportedly reached 13,000 kilometers per hour. He also recalled earlier statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had said that Oreshnik’s warheads are capable of withstanding temperatures of around 6,000 degrees Celsius.

Kots explained that resistance to extreme heat is a defining feature of hypersonic weapons. At maximum velocities, a warhead is subjected to intense heating caused by friction with the atmosphere, conditions under which many materials would fail. According to him, Russian hypersonic combat units rely on advanced composite materials designed to protect the structure from overheating and physical destruction during flight.

The strike using the Oreshnik missile system was carried out in Lvov Region during the night of January 9. Russia’s Ministry of Defense stated that the attack was conducted in response to what it described as an attempted Ukrainian strike on the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Novgorod Region in late December 2025.