Russia fires hypersonic Oreshnik missile at Ukraine

Russia has launched its new hypersonic Oreshnik missile at Ukraine during a large overnight attack, according to its military.

Ukrainian authorities confirmed the strike, saying it happened in the west of the country close to the European Union border. 

Moscow said the missile launch was in response to an alleged Ukrainian drone attempt on President Vladimir Putin’s residence last month, a claim denied by both Ukraine and the United States.

Ukraine’s foreign minister warned that firing the missile so close to EU and Nato territory was a “grave threat” to European security and urged allies to intensify pressure on Russia. Kyiv also rejected Moscow’s justification for the strike, describing it as “absurd”.

In the western Lviv region, officials said Russian strikes damaged a critical infrastructure facility. Social media reports, which could not be independently verified, suggested the site may be a large underground gas storage facility.

The Oreshnik missile, named after the Russian word for hazel tree, was first used in November 2024, when Moscow said it hit a Ukrainian military-industrial site. Ukrainian officials and analysts said the missile carried dummy warheads and caused limited damage.

The launch came days after Ukraine’s European allies agreed on key elements of postwar security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly cited the Oreshnik in recent months, warning it could be used against Ukraine and western countries supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons.

Putin has claimed the missile cannot be intercepted because of its speed, which he says is more than 10 times the speed of sound, and that its destructive capability rivals a nuclear weapon even with a conventional warhead. 

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Russian forces also carried out overnight attacks on Kyiv, striking several districts of the capital. At least one person was killed, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. Ukraine’s security service said five rescue workers were injured while responding to the strikes.

The Oreshnik launch followed a week in which Ukraine and its European allies reported progress on postwar security plans. On Tuesday, Britain and France said they were prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine after a future peace agreement.

Russia’s foreign ministry rejected the proposal on Thursday, calling the deployment of western troops in Ukraine a “direct threat”, further raising doubts about the prospects for a negotiated peace.

(The Guardian UK)