Ukraine Strikes Russia’s Oreshnik Missile Hub — Moscow Didn’t See This Coming - Fox News

Ukraine Strikes Russia’s Oreshnik Missile Hub — Moscow Didn’t See This Coming

Fox News, Jan 11, 2026

In a devastating blow to Russian military capabilities, a precision Ukrainian strike obliterated the Oreshnik missile warehouse at CritV 6 air base, igniting uncontrollable fires that have rendered billion-dollar hypersonic missile systems inoperable. This unprecedented attack exploited a rare window of vulnerability, crippling the base without a single aircraft breach detected.

At 2:38 a.m., the night sky above CritV 6 shattered with a towering pillar of fire, piercing through heavy clouds and turning a frozen winter forest into a fiery tableau. The explosion’s brilliance surpassed daylight, melting snow into steam as the outbreak ignited a catastrophic chain reaction deep within reinforced concrete shelters.

Unlike traditional assaults, no incoming missiles or aircraft were detected. The Russians’ layered defense grid scrambled futilely to identify phantom threats in the sky, launching costly S400 interceptors at empty radar signatures. Meanwhile, the real strike unfolded beneath the radar’s gaze, defying conventional detection with tactical cunning.

Inside the hardened bunkers, the worst nightmare unfolded. Fueled hypersonic missiles—valued at billions—turned from strategic assets into blazing infernos. Temperatures spiraled beyond 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, shredding concrete and steel from within as sealed missile compartments became lethal blast furnaces incapable of containment or control.

The Ukrainian operation was meticulously timed, capitalizing on a narrow few hours when all missile launchers were fully fueled, sealed, and parked in vulnerable positions. Speed and altitude protections are irrelevant for weapons at rest; this attack dismantled the myth of invincibility surrounding Russia’s cutting-edge Arsenic hypersonics by striking during their most fragile phase.

The initial electronic deception launched by an F-16 “Wild Weasel” overwhelmed Russian radar with false targets, compelling an expensive and ineffective interceptor response. This distraction allowed a swarm of drones to expose and drain the base’s short-range defenses, depleting ammunition and response readiness, paving the way for four stealth cruise missiles to deliver savage bunker-busting blows.

Within minutes, CritV 6 was a smoldering ruin. Emergency systems failed under the shock’s brutal intensity, cutting power and severing communications. Door mechanisms jammed under debris, trapping personnel inside as the base transformed into a colossal fiery tomb. Exterior defenses still scanned skyward, unaware the threat was no longer airborne but raging below.

By dawn, satellite imagery captured a scorched zone over 2.4 kilometers wide, scorched earth evidence of the operation’s destructive scale. Several reinforced shelters collapsed inward, victims of internal overpressure rather than exterior strike damage, underscoring the devastating internal combustion of solid rocket propellant at the heart of the complex.

This strike obliterated nine mobile launchers, each capable of deploying missiles at speeds approaching Mach 10, destroying more than 400 tons of high-energy solid propellant and billions in military assets. Replenishing this capacity would demand over a year’s production under uninterrupted conditions, an impossibility given current sanctions and resource constraints.

Strategically, this attack exposes a critical vulnerability in so-called invincible hypersonic weapon systems: their reliance on vulnerable preparation and fueling phases. The Arsenic system’s layered defense doctrine was built for high-speed interception, not for detecting patient, low-profile sabotage that leverages timing over force.

Russia’s defensive failures highlight an alarming blind spot: operators remained fixated on tracking fast-moving threats, blind to subtle yet devastating incursions exploiting logistical routines. The attack did not destroy the missiles mid-flight but struck at the quiet moments of preparation, dismantling fearsome power before it could mobilize.

Financial losses are staggering, with conservative estimates exceeding $4 billion when factoring infrastructure, command equipment, and support vehicles. More alarmingly, the human and operational toll erodes confidence in the base’s command structure, creating gaps in radar coverage and disrupting strategic readiness across the region.

This unprecedented event rewrites the modern warfare playbook, proving that cutting-edge technology is vulnerable if adversaries master timing, discipline, and precision. It underscores a harsh truth: the deadliest weapon is not speed or firepower—it is the intelligence to strike when defenses are weakest and unseen.

As fires continue to blaze at CritV 6, the global military community faces a sobering lesson. Hypersonic weapons, heralded as unstoppable, reveal their Achilles’ heel not in the flight but in the moments preceding launch, where vulnerability lies 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓭 to the patient and the prepared.

The destruction at Oreshnik challenges conventional deterrence, demonstrating how a well-coordinated, stealthy approach can neutralize billion-dollar arsenals without traditional dogfights or missile interceptions. The Ukrainian strike is more than a tactical victory—it is a strategic paradigm shift with wide-reaching implications.

Russia’s loss includes not only material assets but also irreplaceable expertise, training regimens, and carefully constructed deployment schedules. The blow disrupts command authority and forces immediate recalibration of defensive posture, undermining regional deterrence and exposing further cascading weaknesses in high-value targets.

This episode demands urgent analysis and adaptation by militaries worldwide. It is a stark reminder that the integration of advanced systems demands equally advanced operational security, awareness, and adaptability. The era where the silence before a strike determined survivability has redefined the stakes.

In the end, the attack on CritV 6 was an exercise in patience outmaneuvering power, deception outthinking reaction, and precision negating overwhelming force. It stands as a testament that no defense, no matter how layered or technologically advanced, is impervious to the unexpected moment of vulnerability.

The fallout from this strike will resonate well beyond the borders of Ukraine and Russia, challenging assumptions about modern military invincibility. It forces the question: can any weapon truly be invincible when the adversary controls the clock, the radar, and the unseen battlefield beneath the skies?