Vladimir Putin has boldly deployed the Oreshnik missile, capable of reaching speeds of 8,000mph, in an attack on Ukraine, with one missile landing near a NATO member’s territory.
Reports from Ukrainian officials indicate that the overnight strike on the capital city of Kyiv resulted in the death of four individuals and left at least 22 others injured. Although Russian authorities have not confirmed the exact location of the missile impact, sources within the country suggest that some missiles targeted a large underground natural gas storage facility in the Lviv region, which shares a border with Poland.
The Russian Defence Ministry justified the attack as a response to what they claim was a drone strike by Ukraine on President Vladimir Putin’s residence in the previous month. Both Ukraine and US President Donald Trump have refuted these allegations, denying any involvement in the alleged attack on Putin’s residence.
Mayor Andriy Sadoviy of Lviv has confirmed that Russia targeted critical infrastructure with a ballistic missile, although specific details were not disclosed. The missile reportedly traveled at speeds exceeding 8,000 miles per hour, and further investigations are underway to determine the exact type of rocket used.
The Oreshnik missile, also known as the hazelnut tree in Russian, was initially tested by Russia in November 2024 when it struck a Ukrainian factory. Putin has boasted about the missile’s capabilities, stating that its multiple warheads can travel at speeds of up to Mach 10, making interception nearly impossible. Furthermore, he claimed that a conventional strike with several Oreshnik missiles could be as destructive as a nuclear attack, as the missile is also capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Following the attack on Ukraine’s capital, casualties included an emergency medical worker, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv city’s military administration. Additionally, five rescue workers were injured while responding to the ongoing attacks, with reports of a drone crashing onto a building’s roof in the Desnyanskyi district and damaging residential structures in another location within the same district.
In the aftermath of the assault, parts of buildings in the Dnipro district were damaged by a drone, causing a fire to break out. The attack also disrupted essential services like running water and electricity in certain areas of Kyiv, as reported by Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
The strike occurred shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned the nation about Russia’s plans for a large-scale offensive, taking advantage of the icy conditions in the capital due to freezing weather conditions.