Vladimir Putin ramps up hypersonic missile production amid WW3 fears

Russian despot Vladimir Putin is ramping up hypersonic missile production as tensions in the Middle East exacerbates WW3 fears.

The move comes after Iran targetted American military bases in neighbouring Qatar on Monday in response to US President Donald Trump's decision to drop six "bunker buster" bombs at nuclear sites in the country over the weekend.

Israel carried out the strikes amid concerns Iran was enriching uranium to produce a nuclear weapon to threaten the Jewish majority state. Iran has also been a firm ally of Moscow, having supplied drones for its invasion of Ukraine.

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As Iran approved a ceasefire from 8am today following American and Israeli air strikes, its ally in Moscow is assessing the situation and has determined increasing its arsenal is vital to self-preservation. Putin said Russia would increase production of missiles should it be attacked.

During a press conference, Putin said more Oreshnik hypersonic missiles would be produced. The missiles are believed to have an intermediate-range and were first used when Russia attacked Ukraine.

Putin said the missile had "proven itself very well in combat conditions," Reuters reported. He added: "Serial production of the latest Oreshnik medium-range missile system under way."

The missile, which is also known as Hazel tree missiles, were used in Russian strikes against Ukraine in November 21, 2024. The arsenal targeted a defence building in the city of Dnipro and caused major significant damage to it.

Putin said he approved of the missile strike after Ukraine started to use ballistic missiles that were produced in the US, just before former president Joe Biden left office. The Russian leader went on to blame the UK for permitting Ukraine to use cruise missiles that had been produced in the country to strike targets in Russia.

The missile can hit targets as far as 3,415 miles away and would be able to strike targets across Europe as well as ones in the western US. At a previous press conference, Putin said the Oreshnik was "impossible to intercept," and said it could damage buildings as much as a nuclear weapon - although military analysts have cast doubt over the claim.

Just one month after they were first deployed on the battlefield, US officials rubbished Putin's claim that they were game-changers. Senior staff members instead said the warhead was "experimental" and that the Kremlin was overcompensating for the number of actual missiles they had.

Moscow has gone on to say it would deploy the Oreshnik missile to its puppet Belarus, which shares a border with NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. The Oreshnik missiles would be ready to use in the later half of this year.