Russia launches Oreshnik missile in massive strike on Ukraine: Here’s what we know
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes were retaliation for what it called Ukrainian attacks on “civilian facilities in Russian territory”
Russia used the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile during a mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv Sunday that killed at least two people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. This is the third time the weapon has been used in the four-year war.
The Oreshnik, which can carry nuclear or conventional warheads, struck the city of Bila Tserkva in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said on Telegram. Russia’s Defence Ministry later confirmed the use of the missile and said it targeted Ukrainian “military command facilities, air bases and military industrial enterprises.”
The overnight strike on Kyiv killed at least two people and wounded 83 others, according to Ukrainian authorities. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 600 strike drones and 90 missiles from air, sea and ground platforms. Ukrainian defences intercepted or jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles, while 19 missiles failed to reach targets, the air force said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes were retaliation for what it called Ukrainian attacks on “civilian facilities in Russian territory” without elaborating further. The ministry later told Russian media that the overnight assault did not target civilian sites, Tass state agency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier ordered the military to prepare and submit retaliation proposals after a drone strike on a college dormitory in eastern Ukraine. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the strike in Starobilsk, where Russian emergency authorities said 21 people died and 42 suffered injuries.
At a UN Security Council emergency meeting requested by Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Melnyk rejected Moscow’s accusations of war crimes, calling it a “pure progaganda show” and said Ukraine’s May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine.”
Russia first used the Oreshnik missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024. Moscow used it again in the Lviv region in January.
Putin has said the Oreshnik (meaning hazelnut tree in Russian) travels at mach 10 (ten times the speed of sound) and can destroy underground bunkers several floors deep. He has also claimed the weapon remains immune to missile defence systems and said multiple Oreshnik missiles fitted with conventional warheads could cause destruction comparable to a nuclear strike.
Earlier,Zelenskyy has warned that Russia was preparing another Oreshnik attack, citing intelligence from US and other Western partners.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine failed to intercept all ballistic missiles during Sunday’s strikes and that most of it targeted Kyiv.
The attack highlighted Ukraine’s shortage of air defence missiles capable of intercepting and downing ballistic weapons. Kyiv depends on US-made Patriot systems for such interceptions, but interceptor missile stocks remain limited.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry has prioritised the development of a domestic alternative, though officials say it will require more time and funding.
Ukraine’s emergency service said strikes damaged at least 50 locations across Kyiv, including residential buildings, schools, shopping centres and police department buildings.
In Kyiv’s Shevchenko district, a strike hit a five-storey residential building and killed one person, according to Ukraine’s emergency officials. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said an attack damaged a school while residents sheltered inside.
Fires continued into the morning as rescue teams worked through collapsed structures.
“It was a terrible night, and there had never been anything like it in the entire war,” said Kyiv resident Svitlana Onofryichuk, 55, who worked in a market for 22 years. “My job is gone, everything is gone, everything has burned down,” she told news agency AP.
Yevhen Zosin, 74, a Kyiv resident who witnessed the attack, said the moment he heard the explosion, he rushed to grab his dog. “Then there was another explosion, and she and I were thrown back like a pin by the shock wave. We both survived, she and I. My apartment was blown to pieces,” he said.
Elsewhere, authorities in Russia’s Belgorod region said a Ukrainian drone strike killed one civilian in the town of Grayvoron. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it intercepted or jammed 33 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over the Moscow region and Crimea.
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Russia used the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile during a mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv Sunday that killed at least two people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. This is the third time the weapon has been used in the four-year war.
The Oreshnik, which can carry nuclear or conventional warheads, struck the city of Bila Tserkva in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said on Telegram. Russia’s Defence Ministry later confirmed the use of the missile and said it targeted Ukrainian “military command facilities, air bases and military industrial enterprises.”
The overnight strike on Kyiv killed at least two people and wounded 83 others, according to Ukrainian authorities. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 600 strike drones and 90 missiles from air, sea and ground platforms. Ukrainian defences intercepted or jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles, while 19 missiles failed to reach targets, the air force said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes were retaliation for what it called Ukrainian attacks on “civilian facilities in Russian territory” without elaborating further. The ministry later told Russian media that the overnight assault did not target civilian sites, Tass state agency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier ordered the military to prepare and submit retaliation proposals after a drone strike on a college dormitory in eastern Ukraine. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the strike in Starobilsk, where Russian emergency authorities said 21 people died and 42 suffered injuries.
At a UN Security Council emergency meeting requested by Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Melnyk rejected Moscow’s accusations of war crimes, calling it a “pure progaganda show” and said Ukraine’s May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine.”
Russia first used the Oreshnik missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024. Moscow used it again in the Lviv region in January.
Putin has said the Oreshnik (meaning hazelnut tree in Russian) travels at mach 10 (ten times the speed of sound) and can destroy underground bunkers several floors deep. He has also claimed the weapon remains immune to missile defence systems and said multiple Oreshnik missiles fitted with conventional warheads could cause destruction comparable to a nuclear strike.
Earlier,Zelenskyy has warned that Russia was preparing another Oreshnik attack, citing intelligence from US and other Western partners.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine failed to intercept all ballistic missiles during Sunday’s strikes and that most of it targeted Kyiv.
The attack highlighted Ukraine’s shortage of air defence missiles capable of intercepting and downing ballistic weapons. Kyiv depends on US-made Patriot systems for such interceptions, but interceptor missile stocks remain limited.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry has prioritised the development of a domestic alternative, though officials say it will require more time and funding.
Ukraine’s emergency service said strikes damaged at least 50 locations across Kyiv, including residential buildings, schools, shopping centres and police department buildings.
In Kyiv’s Shevchenko district, a strike hit a five-storey residential building and killed one person, according to Ukraine’s emergency officials. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said an attack damaged a school while residents sheltered inside.
Fires continued into the morning as rescue teams worked through collapsed structures.
“It was a terrible night, and there had never been anything like it in the entire war,” said Kyiv resident Svitlana Onofryichuk, 55, who worked in a market for 22 years. “My job is gone, everything is gone, everything has burned down,” she told news agency AP.
Yevhen Zosin, 74, a Kyiv resident who witnessed the attack, said the moment he heard the explosion, he rushed to grab his dog. “Then there was another explosion, and she and I were thrown back like a pin by the shock wave. We both survived, she and I. My apartment was blown to pieces,” he said.
Elsewhere, authorities in Russia’s Belgorod region said a Ukrainian drone strike killed one civilian in the town of Grayvoron. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it intercepted or jammed 33 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over the Moscow region and Crimea.
