Russia has used its hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile for the third time in Ukraine, targeting Kyiv and the surrounding region in a massive assault that killed at least four people and injured around 100, Ukrainian officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as a 'heavy assault' that struck a water supply facility, burned down a market, and damaged dozens of residential buildings and several schools.
The Russian defence ministry confirmed the use of the Oreshnik missile, which can carry nuclear or conventional warheads, and said the strikes were retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on 'civilian facilities on Russian territory'. The ministry also claimed successful hits on Ukrainian military command facilities, airbases, and other military enterprises using Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinzhal, and Zircon missiles.
Zelenskyy reported that the attack involved 600 drones and 90 missiles, including 36 ballistic missiles, with Kyiv bearing the brunt. 'Unfortunately, not all of the ballistic missiles were intercepted – the largest number of hits was in Kyiv. Kyiv was the primary target of this Russian attack,' he wrote on X, adding that it must not go unpunished.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed and 56 wounded in the capital, with damage recorded in every district. A school was set on fire and a business centre hit, trapping people in a shelter. In the broader Kyiv region, two more people were killed and nine wounded, according to regional authorities.
Witnesses described the terror. Svitlana Onofryichuk, who had worked at the destroyed market for 22 years, told the Associated Press: 'It was a terrible night and there has never been anything like it in the entire war.' Yevhen Zosin, 74, recounted being thrown back by a shockwave while trying to save his dog. Ukraine's National Art Museum and the foreign ministry were also damaged, the latter for the first time since World War II.
The attack followed President Vladimir Putin's vow of revenge for a Ukrainian drone strike on a student dormitory in Russian-controlled Luhansk, which Ukraine denied. Zelenskyy condemned the assault as 'deranged', while the culture minister said Russia is 'systematically attacking civilian infrastructure and cultural institutions' to destroy Ukraine's identity.
