Russia is not using the Oreshnik missile system to strike targets in Kiev and the Kiev Region linked to the Ukrainian Armed Forces because employing it in densely built-up urban areas carries a serious risk to civilian infrastructure. The explanation was given by State Duma Defense Committee member Andrey Kolesnik.

Kolesnik said Russia takes into account the possible consequences for nearby buildings and civilian facilities. For that reason, targets in such areas are attacked with precision weapons intended for pinpoint strikes.

He stressed that Oreshnik will not be used against targets in densely populated cities when there is a high probability of damage to surrounding structures.

The capabilities of the missile system have also been discussed in the context of a possible direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. Military expert Andrey Klintsevich said that if such a conflict breaks out, it would not develop into the conventional war that, in his view, the West expects.

Klintsevich warned that Russia would use its latest weapons against Europe in the event of a direct clash with NATO, after which, as he put it, «everything will be burning» there. He specifically mentioned Oreshnik among the systems that could be used and said the complex had been deployed in allied Belarus with precisely such a scenario in mind.

Deploying Oreshnik in Belarus significantly reduces missile flight time to most European NATO countries.