Russian fun park launches 'Oreshnik' ride

A Russian amusement park in St Petersburg has named one of ​its rides the "Oreshnik", after a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile ‌that Moscow has fired three times at Ukraine.

Visitors to the rocket-shaped attraction are repeatedly lifted into the air ​and plunged into sudden stomach-churning drops.

Not everyone ​is pleased with the name, however.

"I don't ⁠think it fits. The best name for ​it would be 'Rocket'... I don't understand what it's got ​to do with the Oreshnik - who came up with that name?" one woman said.

A man visiting the park on Friday ​told Reuters: "A children's attraction should have a ​children's name, that's my personal opinion."

The Oreshnik - which Russia first ‌fired ⁠against Ukraine in 2024, and most recently last month - has a range of over 5,000 km (3,100 miles). President Vladimir Putin has said it is ​impossible to intercept, ​though Western ⁠experts have questioned that assertion.

Putin told reporters on Thursday that Russia had ​not yet used the Oreshnik against ​Ukraine ⁠in real combat conditions, but only tried it out to observe the results. He said this would inform ⁠Moscow's ​decisions about the full-scale use ​of the weapon in future, including against urban targets.

-Reuters