Russia hits Ukraine with rarely used hypersonic missile
The nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile hit the region of Lviv, near Ukraine’s border with NATO member Poland.
KYIV, Ukraine—Russia launched its nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile against Ukraine for only the second time, hitting the western region of Lviv near the Polish border overnight in a significant escalation of its aerial campaign as another wave of drones and missiles struck the capital, Kyiv.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin first unveiled the Oreshnik in an attack on central Ukraine over a year ago to warn the West against further involvement in the war after Ukraine attacked Russia with U.S. and U.K.-supplied missiles. The new missile appeared to have a greater range and speed than other weapons Russia had used in war until that point, and, like the missile targeting Lviv, wasn’t fitted with nuclear warheads.
This time, Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Oreshnik strike in Lviv and the barrage of drones and missiles directed at Kyiv were in response to what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian attack against one of Putin’s residences in late December.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had denied the Russian allegation, which came shortly after he met with President Trump to discuss proposals to end the war, including the contentious issue of what security guarantees the U.S. and its allies might provide to underpin any deal. U.S. national-security officials also determined that Kyiv didn’t target Putin or one of his residences during the alleged strike.
Russia subsequently threatened to recalibrate its already hard-line position on ending the war and pledged a response, which appeared to come in the early hours of Friday.
Near the border with Poland, a NATO member, residents in the Lviv region said they barely had time to react to alerts.
“Everything happened extremely fast," Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said. “Very powerful explosions rang out and after the explosions, we received information that it was a ballistic missile."
He said the attack damaged critical infrastructure, though no casualties were reported.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted on X that “this is truly a global threat. And it demands global responses." He said Ukraine would initiate an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
The countrywide attack which involved 242 drones and 36 missiles killed four people and injured more than 20 in Kyiv. It damaged 20 residential buildings and, crucially, crippled heating systems as temperatures dropped to about -11 degrees Celsius.
“Russia deliberately targeted civilian and critical infrastructure. The enemy’s inhumane goal is to leave millions of people without light, heat, and water in the middle of a freezing winter," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote.
The attack left some 500,000 residents without power or water as of Friday morning with the emergency repairs under way, according to the Ukrainian prime minister. City Mayor Vitali Klitschko said half of Kyiv’s apartment buildings had lost heating.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had successfully struck drone-production sites and energy infrastructure powering the Ukrainian military effort.
Write to Anastasiia Malenko at anastasiia.malenko@wsj.com
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