IT JUST TAKES ONE ORESHNIK HYPERSONIC MISSILES ARMED WITH A NUCLEAR WARHEAD TO FLATTEN LONDON, BRUSSELS, BERLIN ETC IN MINUTES
RUSSIA MAY HAVE FIRED 9 AT THE WESTERN UKRAINE BUT WITH CONVENTIONAL WARHEADS, UNCLEAR IF A NUCLEAR WARHEAD WAS USED TO DESTROY AN UNDERGROUND GAS STORAGE FACILITY WHICH THE UKRAINE AND EU RELIES ON AS A RESERVE
Russia has used Oreshnik hypersonic missiles to attack a gas storage facility in the West of the Ukraine which is vital for the Ukraine s energy security in a major escalation of the conflict.
The missiles can travel at 13,000 km per hour and evade all the air defences of the Ukraine and NATO.
Videos appear to show 9 missiles slamming into the West of the Ukraine and the sky turning red, sparking questions about whether Russia used nuclear warheads on any of its missiles.
From media
Mayor Andriy Sadovyi confirmed the attack, and Regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi identified the target as a critical infrastructure facility. According to local media reports, the intended targets were likely the Stryi gas field and gas storage facility.
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/01/09/russia-hits-gas-field-near-lviv-in-suspected-oreshnik-ballistic-missile-strike
The Stryi gas field stores roughly as much gas underground Poland or the Ukraine uses in a year at 17 billion cubic meters.
It is stored 400 metres underground. Only an Oreshnik armed with nuclear warhead could destroy the underground gas facilities, according to AI But local media report radiation levels are the same.
The missiles are sure to have done a great deal of damage to any infrstructure close to the surface.
From AI
The gas storage facilities near the city of Stryi, Ukraine (specifically the Bilche–Volitsko–Ugerskoye site), are important for Ukraine's energy security and serve as a critical logistical gas hub for European countries, especially during winter.
Key Reasons for its Importance
Regional Energy Security: The facility is the largest underground gas storage in Europe, with a capacity of 17 billion cubic meters, accounting for over half of Ukraine's total storage
capacity. This massive capacity allows Ukraine and its neighbors to store significant reserves during low-demand seasons (summer) and withdraw them during peak winter demand,
ensuring a reliable and uninterrupted supply of heating fuel for civilian homes.
European Hub: Ukraine's storage system is a key part of the broader European energy infrastructure, offering the lowest storage tariffs in Europe. European energy traders have
historically used these facilities to store their own gas, contributing to the EU's buffer against supply shocks and price spikes.
Buffer Against Disruptions: With the end of Russian gas transit through Ukraine at the start of 2025, the ability to store non-Russian gas (e.g., LNG from the US or pipeline gas from
Norway) in the Stryi facilities is seen as a strategic initiative to enhance European energy independence and stability.
Strategic Military Target: Its importance is underscored by the fact that Russia has repeatedly targeted the facility's ground infrastructure (compressor stations, control centers, etc.) with
missiles and drones. Russia aims to disrupt Ukraine's ability to store gas effectively and deter Western traders from using the site, thereby increasing pressure on the European energy
system.
Historical Infrastructure: The Lviv region is the historical heart of Ukraine's gas industry, with pipelines built as early as the 1920s. The current storage facility is built into a depleted gas
field, offering a natural and secure underground reservoir.
The query refers to the Bilche-Volytsko-Ugerske gas storage facility near the city of Stryi in the Lviv region of Ukraine, which is Europe's largest underground gas storage (UGS) facility.
Key Details
Location: The facility is located in the Stryi district (raion) of the Lviv region in western Ukraine.
Size and Capacity: It is the largest UGS facility in Ukraine and Europe, with a capacity of 17 billion cubic meters of active gas, accounting for 57% of the country's total storage capacity.
Structure: The storage is based on a depleted gas field, with the main gas reserves located at depths of at least 400-500 meters underground, making the actual storage difficult to destroy
by military means.
Operations: The above-ground infrastructure, including compressor stations and wells, handles the injection and withdrawal of gas.
Context: The facility has been a target of Russian missile and drone attacks on multiple occasions, especially in March and April 2024, and January 2025. While the underground storage
itself was not critically damaged, the surface infrastructure has required repairs. These attacks were reportedly in response to alleged Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
AI Overview
Der Stryi-Gasspeicher in der Ukraine, auch bekannt als Bilche-Volitsko-Ugerskoye, ist der größte Untertage-Gasspeicher des Landes und liegt in der Nähe der Stadt Stryi, nördlich
davon. Er nutzt unterirdische Strukturen zur Speicherung großer Mengen Erdgas, um Verbrauchsschwankungen auszugleichen, ähnlich den deutschen Porenspeichern.
Wichtige Punkte zu Stryi:
Standort: Nahe Stryi, Oblast Lwiw, Ukraine.
Kapazität: Er kann bis zu 17 Milliarden Kubikmeter Erdgas speichern, was ihn zum größten seiner Art in der Ukraine macht.
Typ: Es handelt sich um einen Porenspeicher, der in ausgeförderten Erdgaslagerstätten betrieben wird.
Bedeutung: Er spielt eine entscheidende Rolle für die ukrainische Energiesicherheit, indem er Gas für den Winter und Lastspitzen bevorratet.
Vergleich zu Deutschland:
Deutsche Gasspeicher wie Rehden sind ebenfalls unterirdische Porenspeicher, die für Versorgungssicherheit sorgen. Stryi ist jedoch mit seiner Kapazität von 17 Milliarden Kubikmetern
deutlich größer.
A hypersonic missile with a speed of 13,000 km/h cannot destroy a bunker 400 meters underground using a conventional warhead. The maximum depth achievable by even the most
powerful conventional "bunker buster" munitions is significantly less than this.
Limitations of Conventional Bunker Busters
Penetration Depth: The speed of a hypersonic missile primarily helps it evade defense systems, but the physical limits of materials restrict how deeply a warhead can penetrate solid rock
or reinforced concrete before its casing is crushed.
Current Capabilities: The U.S. GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), one of the most powerful non-nuclear conventional earth-penetrating weapons, can penetrate up to 60
meters (about 200 feet) of earth or about 18 meters (60 feet) of reinforced concrete.
Development Goals: Even next-generation conventional bunker-buster missiles in development, such as a variant of India's Agni-V, are designed to penetrate only 80 to 100 meters
underground.
Destruction of Deep Bunkers
A bunker 400 meters (roughly 1,300 feet) underground is beyond the reach of any known conventional weapon. To destroy targets at such extreme depths, nuclear "earth-penetrating
weapons" (EPWs) would be required.
Nuclear EPWs: The U.S. B83 nuclear warhead, when used as an earth-penetrating weapon, is estimated to be capable of destroying bunkers up to 1,000 feet (about 300 meters) deep.
Seismic Shockwaves: These weapons work by exploding underground, which transmits a massive seismic shockwave through the earth, crushing or damaging the bunker structure.
In summary, a bunker 400 meters underground is considered virtually impervious to any current or planned conventional missile attack, regardless of the missile's speed. Only extremely
high-yield nuclear weapons delivered as earth-penetrators might be able to damage a facility at that depth.
Update: Russia’s Defense Ministry has confirmed that it attacked “critical facilities across Ukraine” using “long-range, high-precision land- and sea-based weaponry, including the
‘Oreshnik’ mobile ground-based intermediate-range missile system.” Moscow stated that the strikes were “in response to a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime on the residence of the
President of the Russian Federation in the Novgorod region — an action carried out on the night of December 29, 2025.” Ukraine has consistently denied that this attack ever occurred,
and Russia’s evidence leaves much to be desired.
Shortly after Ukraine’s Air Force reported the threat of an intermediate-range ballistic missile launch from a Russian strategic nuclear testing site near the Caspian Sea, explosions rocked
the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday morning, local time. Mayor Andriy Sadovyi confirmed the attack, and Regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi identified the target as a critical
infrastructure facility. According to local media reports, the intended targets were likely the Stryi gas field and gas storage facility.
https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/01/09/russia-hits-gas-field-near-lviv-in-suspected-oreshnik-ballistic-missile-strike
The gas storage facilities near the city of Stryi, Ukraine (specifically the Bilche–Volitsko–Ugerskoye site), are important for Ukraine's energy security and serve as a critical logistical gas
hub for European countries, especially during winter.
Key Reasons for its Importance
Regional Energy Security: The facility is the largest underground gas storage in Europe, with a capacity of 17 billion cubic meters, accounting for over half of Ukraine's total storage
capacity. This massive capacity allows Ukraine and its neighbors to store significant reserves during low-demand seasons (summer) and withdraw them during peak winter demand,
ensuring a reliable and uninterrupted supply of heating fuel for civilian homes.
European Hub: Ukraine's storage system is a key part of the broader European energy infrastructure, offering the lowest storage tariffs in Europe. European energy traders have
historically used these facilities to store their own gas, contributing to the EU's buffer against supply shocks and price spikes.
Buffer Against Disruptions: With the end of Russian gas transit through Ukraine at the start of 2025, the ability to store non-Russian gas (e.g., LNG from the US or pipeline gas from
Norway) in the Stryi facilities is seen as a strategic initiative to enhance European energy independence and stability.
Strategic Military Target: Its importance is underscored by the fact that Russia has repeatedly targeted the facility's ground infrastructure (compressor stations, control centers, etc.) with
missiles and drones. Russia aims to disrupt Ukraine's ability to store gas effectively and deter Western traders from using the site, thereby increasing pressure on the European energy
system.
Historical Infrastructure: The Lviv region is the historical heart of Ukraine's gas industry, with pipelines built as early as the 1920s. The current storage facility is built into a depleted gas
field, offering a natural and secure underground reservoir.
The query refers to the Bilche-Volytsko-Ugerske gas storage facility near the city of Stryi in the Lviv region of Ukraine, which is Europe's largest underground gas storage (UGS) facility.
Key Details
Location: The facility is located in the Stryi district (raion) of the Lviv region in western Ukraine.
Size and Capacity: It is the largest UGS facility in Ukraine and Europe, with a capacity of 17 billion cubic meters of active gas, accounting for 57% of the country's total storage capacity.
Structure: The storage is based on a depleted gas field, with the main gas reserves located at depths of at least 400-500 meters underground, making the actual storage difficult to destroy
by military means.
Operations: The above-ground infrastructure, including compressor stations and wells, handles the injection and withdrawal of gas.
Context: The facility has been a target of Russian missile and drone attacks on multiple occasions, especially in March and April 2024, and January 2025. While the underground storage
itself was not critically damaged, the surface infrastructure has required repairs. These attacks were reportedly in response to alleged Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
AI Overview
Der Stryi-Gasspeicher in der Ukraine, auch bekannt als Bilche-Volitsko-Ugerskoye, ist der größte Untertage-Gasspeicher des Landes und liegt in der Nähe der Stadt Stryi, nördlich
davon. Er nutzt unterirdische Strukturen zur Speicherung großer Mengen Erdgas, um Verbrauchsschwankungen auszugleichen, ähnlich den deutschen Porenspeichern.
Wichtige Punkte zu Stryi:
Standort: Nahe Stryi, Oblast Lwiw, Ukraine.
Kapazität: Er kann bis zu 17 Milliarden Kubikmeter Erdgas speichern, was ihn zum größten seiner Art in der Ukraine macht.
Typ: Es handelt sich um einen Porenspeicher, der in ausgeförderten Erdgaslagerstätten betrieben wird.
Bedeutung: Er spielt eine entscheidende Rolle für die ukrainische Energiesicherheit, indem er Gas für den Winter und Lastspitzen bevorratet.
Vergleich zu Deutschland:
Deutsche Gasspeicher wie Rehden sind ebenfalls unterirdische Porenspeicher, die für Versorgungssicherheit sorgen. Stryi ist jedoch mit seiner Kapazität von 17 Milliarden Kubikmetern
deutlich größer.
A hypersonic missile with a speed of 13,000 km/h cannot destroy a bunker 400 meters underground using a conventional warhead. The maximum depth achievable by even the most
powerful conventional "bunker buster" munitions is significantly less than this.
Limitations of Conventional Bunker Busters
Penetration Depth: The speed of a hypersonic missile primarily helps it evade defense systems, but the physical limits of materials restrict how deeply a warhead can penetrate solid rock
or reinforced concrete before its casing is crushed.
Current Capabilities: The U.S. GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), one of the most powerful non-nuclear conventional earth-penetrating weapons, can penetrate up to 60
meters (about 200 feet) of earth or about 18 meters (60 feet) of reinforced concrete.
Development Goals: Even next-generation conventional bunker-buster missiles in development, such as a variant of India's Agni-V, are designed to penetrate only 80 to 100 meters
underground.
Destruction of Deep Bunkers
A bunker 400 meters (roughly 1,300 feet) underground is beyond the reach of any known conventional weapon. To destroy targets at such extreme depths, nuclear "earth-penetrating
weapons" (EPWs) would be required.
Nuclear EPWs: The U.S. B83 nuclear warhead, when used as an earth-penetrating weapon, is estimated to be capable of destroying bunkers up to 1,000 feet (about 300 meters) deep.
Seismic Shockwaves: These weapons work by exploding underground, which transmits a massive seismic shockwave through the earth, crushing or damaging the bunker structure.
In summary, a bunker 400 meters underground is considered virtually impervious to any current or planned conventional missile attack, regardless of the missile's speed. Only extremely
high-yield nuclear weapons delivered as earth-penetrators might be able to damage a facility at that depth.
No comments:
Post a Comment