Oreshnik strike planned before long-range strikes permission, Gerasimov reportedly told US military chief

Russian General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, held a rare phone call with U.S. General Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Nov. 27, The New York Times reported on Dec. 4.

The conversation occurred just six days after Russia launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, at Dnipro in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the strike was in response to Ukraine's use of American and British weapons to target deeper within Russia.

During the call, Gerasimov told Brown that the missile launch had been planned well before the U.S. authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles for deeper strikes into Russian territory, undisclosed official sources told the New York Times.

Captain Jereal Dorsey, a spokesperson for Brown, confirmed the call, noting that it was conducted at Gerasimov's request and that Brown agreed not to announce it proactively.

The Nov. 21 Oreshnik missile strike on Dnipro prompted a media blitz in Russia. The Moscow Times on Dec. 3 described it as a carefully staged effort to intimidate Western allies.

Four Russian official sources reportedly indicated that the strike was primarily meant to display strength rather than escalation.

This undermines Putin's subsequent threats to use the Oreshnik missile to target "decision-making centers" in Kyiv, which appear increasingly aimed at sowing fear rather than signaling imminent action.

Almost 40% of Russians think nuclear strike on Ukraine is justified, Russian sociologist says

Vladimir Putin’s talks of a potential nuclear strike “gradually lead to an increase in the proportion of (Russians) who believe it is acceptable, in fact, morally justified,” Russian sociologist Alexey Levinson said.

The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak