Russia struck Kyiv with a hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile on Sunday as part of a large-scale drone and missile assault that killed at least two people and wounded 83 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The attack damaged buildings near government offices, residential areas, schools and a market in the capital, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The assault involved 600 strike drones and 90 air, sea and ground-launched missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force reported. Air defenses destroyed or jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles, while 19 missiles failed to reach their targets. Zelenskyy noted that the Oreshnik missile hit the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, marking the third time Russia has used the weapon in the four-year war.
Air raid sirens sounded through the night as smoke rose from multiple strike sites. Associated Press reporters heard powerful explosions near the city center and close to government buildings. Fires continued into the morning, hampering rescue operations as structures collapsed.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the use of the Oreshnik and other missiles, stating the strikes targeted Ukrainian “military command and control facilities,” air bases and military industrial enterprises. The ministry described the attack as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on civilian facilities in Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the response after a drone strike on a college dormitory in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine last Friday, which Moscow attributed to Kyiv. Russian authorities said the death toll from that incident rose to 21, with 42 others wounded, and announced two days of mourning in the Luhansk region.
“It was a terrible night, and there had never been anything like it in the entire war,” said Kyiv resident Svitlana Onofryichuk, 55, who had worked in the damaged market for 22 years. “I am very sorry that I have to say goodbye to Kyiv now, I am not staying there anymore, there is no possibility. My job is gone, everything is gone, everything has burned down.”
Another resident, Yevhen Zosin, 74, described being thrown back by a shock wave while trying 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.
Damage occurred at 50 locations across several districts, including a five-story residential building in the Shevchenko district where one person died, Ukraine’s state emergency service reported. A school building was also hit while people sheltered inside, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Supermarkets, warehouses and police department buildings sustained damage as well.
Albania’s foreign minister, Ferit Hoxha, said the residence of the Albanian ambassador to Ukraine was struck, calling the incident “unacceptable” and a “grave escalation.” Ukraine’s European allies, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, condemned the strikes and the use of the Oreshnik missile.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that top EU diplomats would meet within days to discuss increasing pressure on Russia. At a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting requested by Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Melnyk rejected accusations of war crimes, describing them as “pure propaganda show” and stating that the May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine.”
Zelenskyy emphasized that not all ballistic missiles were intercepted and that most strikes hit Kyiv. The difficulties in downing these weapons highlight Ukraine’s shortage of air defense missiles suited for ballistic threats, with the country relying on U.S. Patriot systems whose interceptors are in short supply.
Elsewhere, a Ukrainian drone killed a civilian in the Russian town of Grayvoron in the Belgorod region, local authorities reported. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down or jammed 33 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, and Russian-occupied Crimea.
Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the Kyiv regional administration, confirmed damage in multiple communities throughout the region. The Oreshnik missile, capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads, has now been deployed three times according to Ukrainian statements.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has prioritized developing a domestically produced alternative to foreign ballistic missile defenses, though officials note this will require additional time and funding. The latest attack follows a pattern of escalating exchanges between the two sides in recent days.