Russia has launched a fresh large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine, deploying the rarely used Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, leaving at least 29 casualties, Ukrainian officials have confirmed.
The assault, which took place late Thursday night, killed four people and injured 25 others, with powerful explosions rocking several parts of the country and lighting up the night sky for hours.
This marks only the second known use of the Oreshnik missile by Moscow. The weapon was first deployed in November 2024 during an attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed the strike was in retaliation for an alleged Ukrainian drone attack targeting the residence of President Vladimir Putin in late December — a claim firmly denied by Kyiv.
Although Russian authorities did not disclose the precise target of the Oreshnik missile, videos circulating on social media shortly before midnight (22:00 GMT) showed multiple explosions on the outskirts of Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials confirmed that a ballistic missile struck infrastructure facilities in Lviv, located about 60 kilometres (40 miles) from the Polish border.
The Oreshnik is believed to be an intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile capable of travelling up to 5,500 kilometres (3,417 miles). It is thought to carry a warhead that fragments during descent into multiple inert projectiles, causing several near-simultaneous explosions.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, warned that the use of such a weapon so close to the EU and NATO border poses a serious threat to European security and challenges the transatlantic alliance.
He dismissed Moscow’s justification for the strike, describing it as a response to President Putin’s “own hallucinations” over the alleged drone incident.
The European Union has expressed doubts over Russia’s claim, while former US President Donald Trump said last week that he did not believe the alleged drone attack occurred.
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On Friday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the Oreshnik strike was meant as a warning to Europe and the United States, stressing that Russia’s actions show President Putin “does not want peace.”
She added that Moscow’s response to diplomatic efforts has been continued missile attacks and destruction, warning that such large-scale strikes would persist without sustained support for Ukraine.
Zelensky disclosed that, beyond the Oreshnik missile, Russia launched 13 ballistic missiles, 22 cruise missiles, and 242 drones overnight, targeting energy facilities and civilian infrastructure. One drone reportedly damaged a building at the Qatari embassy.
He condemned the attacks for worsening civilian hardship during freezing weather conditions, noting that emergency crews were working to restore electricity and heating.
Several western regions, including Lviv, came under heavy fire as Russia unleashed dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones in one of the most intense assaults in recent weeks.
