World War III inches closer as Putin upscales ‘unstoppable’ nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile complex which makes flying bombs that can hit London in ‘eight minutes’

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER and WILL STEWART

Published: 03:11 EST, 14 December 2025 | Updated: 04:01 EST, 14 December 2025

Russia is poised to upscale its threat to the West by deploying within days its new ‘unstoppable’ nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile complex in Belarus from where it could hit London ‘in eight minutes’.

But Ukraine’s foreign intelligence chief has claimed Vladimir Putin may be bluffing by initially installing a ‘dummy’.

Both Russia and Belarus have said the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system will be in place within the next 17 days, posing a new threat of World War Three.

‘Russia and Belarus are building military facilities for the launcher, surveillance systems, and communications — all components of the Oreshnik system,’ confirmed Kyiv’s spy chief Oleh Ivashchenko.

‘However, as of now, these efforts have not yet been completed.’

While Russia may physically place a launcher in Belarus to meet its end of year target, it would serve only as a ‘dummy’ or ‘mock-up’ unless the full infrastructure is completed, he said.

Ukraine is believed in October to have destroyed one of only three Oreshnik complexes with a major strike on the Kapustin Yar test site in southern Russia.

By deploying a fully functional system in Belarus, it would be protected from a Ukrainian strike which can be made on Russia because the two states are at war.

Russia is poised to upscale its threat to the West by deploying within days its new ‘unstoppable’ nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile complex in Belarus (File image)

‘The deployment of the Oreshnik system in Belarus is a tool of pressure primarily on the EU and NATO, not Ukraine,’ said Ivashchenko.

‘This move will allow Russia to boost its ability to launch a surprise strike on the capital of any European country and significantly reduce missile flight time compared to launches from the Kapustin Yar range.’

A secret military base is underway near Pavlovka village, south of Minsk, to house the weapon close to NATO borders, it is believed.

The construction site is approximately the size of 280 football pitches.

Putin claims targets would be incinerated by conventional Oreshnik missiles unleashing a temperature of 4,000C, almost as hot as the surface of the sun, but the weapon is also nuclear capable.

An Oreshnik launch from Belarus could hit London in eight minutes, far shorter than the time it would take from its launch site in Kapustin Yar in southern Russia, according to Russian sources.

Putin has only used the ‘game-changing’ nuclear-capable weapon once - in a ‘test’ launch in November 2024 against Ukrainian city Dnipro, without a live warhead, an operation aimed at scaring both Kyiv and the West.

Ivashchenko made clear that Putin - not Minsk tyrant Alexander Lukashenko - would retain control over Oreshnik launches once if it fully deployed in Belarus.

Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine December 13, 2025

The expected deployment comes as Ukraine launched a massive wave of powerful strikes on Russia overnight.

A huge oil depot in Putin-occupied Crimea went up in flames, and an electricity station at Dzhankoy was also hit.

Another at Uryupinsk in Volgograd region was also set ablaze.

A third came under attacks at Afipsky, in Krasnodar region, where airport restrictions were in place close at several airports including Gelendzhik, close to Putin’s £1 billion clifftop Black Sea palace.

Yet another strike hit a thermal power plant in Smolensk region.

And there were reports of explosions at a chemical plant in Veliky Novgorod - just 90 miles from Putin’s forest mansion, seen as his main home.

Russia again attacked civilians with shelling of private houses in Nikopol.