Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in months, firing a powerful new hypersonic ballistic missile at the Kyiv region and killing at least four people, according to Ukrainian officials. The overnight barrage involved hundreds of drones and missiles, marking the third known use of the Oreshnik intermediate-range system that the United States says can carry multiple conventional or nuclear warheads.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the missile struck near the city of Bila Tserkva in central Ukraine. “They’re really out of their minds. It’s vital that this doesn’t go unpunished for Russia,” he stated. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha added that the missile carried a dummy warhead, describing the strike as one of the largest attacks on the capital.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia fired 600 drones and 90 missiles during the assault. Air defenses intercepted 604 of the weapons, though officials noted that not all ballistic missiles were stopped and Kyiv suffered the heaviest damage. Zelensky said the capital was the main target of the Russian operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the retaliation after accusing Ukraine of a terrorist attack on a college dormitory in the occupied town of Starobilsk in eastern Luhansk. Russian state news agency TASS reported that the death toll from that earlier strike had risen to 18 children, with three more people believed trapped under rubble, citing the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the use of the Oreshnik and other ballistic missiles was “in response to Ukraine’s terrorist attacks on civilian targets within Russian territory.” Ukraine’s military rejected the claim, saying its forces struck only military infrastructure and facilities, including one of the headquarters of the Rubicon unit in the Starobilsk area.
European leaders quickly condemned the Russian escalation. European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas called the deployment of Oreshnik missiles “a political scare-tactic and reckless nuclear-brinkmanship” in a post on X. French President Emmanuel Macron described the move as an “escalation” in “Russia’s war of aggression.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz labeled the action a “reckless escalation” and reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to stand with Ukraine. The reactions came as residents in Kyiv sought shelter during the hours-long assault.
Sixty-two-year-old financier Nataliia Zvarych described the night while sheltering in a metro station. “We walked under the explosions, we saw things flying up there. It was terrifying, scary, we have been sitting here for more than three hours now, listening to the explosions up there,” she told Reuters, calling the attack “horrible.”
Zelensky used the opportunity to press for stronger international action. “Decisions are needed from the United States of America, from Europe, and from others, so that this old curmudgeon in Moscow utters the word ‘peace,’” he said.
The Oreshnik missile’s speed and trajectory make it nearly impossible for Ukraine’s current air defense systems to intercept, according to U.S. assessments. Its deployment in mass attacks underscores Russia’s willingness to introduce advanced weapons in response to Ukrainian strikes on occupied territory.
Putin’s order followed the Ukrainian drone attack on the dormitory in Starobilsk, which Russia says killed children. Ukrainian forces maintain they targeted only military sites, including the Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies, a unit formed in 2024 that has developed drone capabilities for Russian operations.
Officials in Kyiv continue to urge Western partners to provide additional defensive systems capable of countering intermediate-range ballistic threats. The latest barrage highlights the ongoing intensity of the conflict more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
International observers note that further use of such missiles could draw stronger diplomatic responses, though no immediate new sanctions or military aid packages have been announced in direct connection to this attack. Ukrainian air defenses remain under strain from the volume of incoming weapons.