Russia Claims Europe Is 'Defenceless' Against Oreshnik Missiles As WW3 Fears Mount

Russia has escalated tensions with Europe after a senior Kremlin-aligned politician claimed NATO nations are effectively defenceless against Moscow's Oreshnik hypersonic missiles, a statement that has reignited fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the West.

Aleksey Zhuravlyov, a high-ranking Russian lawmaker and chairman of the Rodina party, has issued a chilling warning to NATO and the European Union, claiming that Western capitals now stand completely vulnerable to Moscow's new Oreshnik hypersonic missile system.

The remarks, delivered via Telegram by hardline MP Zhuravlyov, follow a devastating missile strike on Ukraine's Lviv region on 9 January 2026, which occurred just 50 miles from the Polish border. While the Kremlin frames the weapon as an 'unstoppable' deterrent capable of striking with 'meteor-like' force, Western intelligence agencies suggest the move is a calculated act of psychological warfare designed to fracture the Atlantic alliance.

No specific cities were named in his post, nor did he explicitly threaten the UK or any individual nation, yet the implication was unmistakable.

As the conflict enters a 'decisive phase', the deployment of nuclear-capable technology near the EU border has reignited global fears of a direct confrontation between Russia and the West.

The Oreshnik Missiles Controversy: Separating Fact from Kremlin Rhetoric

The Berliner Zeitung's original reporting focused purely on the tactical deployment of hypersonic weapons during intensified Russian strikes across Ukraine. According to the German publication, Russia had deployed the Oreshnik system during heavy bombardments of Kyiv and western Ukrainian regions, marking the first significant use of the weapon system in months. What began as straightforward military reporting, however, became fodder for Zhuravlyov's broader narrative of Western vulnerability—a claim the newspaper itself had never advanced.

Zhuravlyov's track record makes the inflammatory nature of his comments unsurprising. The nationalist politician has repeatedly made aggressive statements about NATO and the West, consistently warning of direct military confrontation between Russia and Western powers. His rhetoric typically frames Moscow as technologically superior and the West as perpetually caught off guard. This latest message follows the same familiar pattern, yet the escalatory tone reflects just how strained the current geopolitical landscape has become.

Why Oreshnik Missiles Matter

The broader context makes Zhuravlyov's comments particularly significant. Tensions between Russia and NATO remain at their highest level since the Cold War ended decades ago, and the prolonged conflict in Ukraine shows no signs of resolution. Each escalatory statement from Moscow—whether about new weapons systems or veiled threats against European cities—deepens concerns about how this crisis might spiral into direct NATO-Russia confrontation.

The stakes are genuine, even if the specific claims are exaggerated. Hypersonic weapons do represent a genuine technological challenge for Western air defences, and Russia has indeed developed these systems ahead of most NATO members. The concern, however, lies less in Russian technological superiority and more in the willingness of Kremlin-aligned figures to make increasingly provocative threats.

When senior politicians publicly declare that European nations are defenceless, it signals either confidence in Russian capabilities or, more troublingly, a conscious effort to intimidate and demoralise the West at a critical moment in the Ukraine conflict.

Sober assessments suggest the reality is far more complex than Zhuravlyov's inflammatory claims suggest. Yet his words reflect a dangerous escalation in rhetoric that suggests Moscow may be testing the boundaries of how far it can push the West verbally before miscalculation becomes reality.

Europe Rallies Defence with 'Odin's Eye' and 5% GDP Targets

In response to the growing hypersonic threat, European powers are rapidly accelerating their own interceptor programmes. France and Germany recently launched the 'Odin's Eye' initiative, a joint space-based early warning system designed to track hypersonic glide vehicles from orbit. Additionally, the Aegis Ashore missile defence base in Redzikowo, Poland, has been put on high alert to bolster the 'shield' across the eastern flank.

As WW3 fears dominate headlines, the US has reportedly urged its allies to reach a 5% GDP defence spending target to counter the shifting technological landscape. Whether the Oreshnik is a 'superweapon' or a 'political tool', its presence in Belarus—where launchers are reportedly being stationed at the Krichev-6 facility—has ensured that the threat to European capitals remains a permanent fixture of 2026 geopolitics.