Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine on Friday, firing hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, including a powerful hypersonic weapon, killing at least four people in Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.
The assault marked only the second known use of Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile since the war began nearly four years ago. Ukrainian officials and European leaders described the move as a strong warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies.
The strikes came just days after Ukraine and its partners reported progress toward possible post-war security guarantees under a potential US-led peace framework. Analysts said the timing suggested an attempt by Moscow to intimidate Ukraine while signalling its military strength to Europe and the United States, even as Russian forces continue to make gradual territorial gains.
Ukrainian authorities said several apartment buildings in Kyiv were hit, leaving four people dead and at least 25 injured. Among those killed was an emergency medical worker, according to Kyiv City Military Administration chief Tymur Tkachenko. Four doctors and a police officer were also injured while responding to the attacks.
Message to Kyiv’s allies
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes were in retaliation for what it claimed was a Ukrainian drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences last month. The allegation has been rejected by both Ukraine and US President Donald Trump.
The assault also came amid rising tensions between Moscow and Washington, following Russia’s criticism of the recent US seizure of an oil tanker in the North Atlantic. Trump has indicated support for tougher sanctions aimed at further pressuring Russia’s economy.
Russian military analysts said the strike on Lviv, near the Polish border, appeared intended as a message to Ukraine’s Western allies. Several European countries, part of the so-called “coalition of the willing,” have proposed deploying troops to Ukraine as part of future security guarantees.
Gerhard Mangott, a Russia expert at the University of Innsbruck, said Moscow was increasingly frustrated by weeks of diplomatic talks involving the US, Ukraine and European nations, during which Russia felt sidelined. He said the use of the Oreshnik missile should be seen in that context.
“This is a signal to the United States and Europe about the military capabilities of the Russian armed forces,” Mangott said.
He added that Moscow wanted to underline that “Russia must be taken seriously” and that Western leaders, including Trump, should show greater respect for Russia’s position during negotiations.
European leaders condemned the attack as “escalatory and unacceptable,” while the European Union’s top diplomat said Putin was responding to diplomatic efforts with “more missiles and destruction.”
Russia deploys Oreshnik
Ukraine’s Security Service said it recovered debris from an Oreshnik missile in the Lviv region. According to Ukrainian officials, the missile was launched from Russia’s Kapustin Yar test range near the Caspian Sea and targeted civilian infrastructure.
Moscow did not confirm the impact site, though Russian media and military bloggers claimed the missile struck an underground natural gas storage facility near the Polish border, an area considered a key route for Western military aid.
Russia first used the multiple-warhead Oreshnik missile in combat in November 2024 during an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, according to Russian and Western officials.
President Vladimir Putin has described the Oreshnik—named after the Russian word for “hazelnut tree”—as a hypersonic system capable of travelling at around Mach 10, or ten times the speed of sound. He has claimed the missile is immune to existing air defence systems and has destructive power comparable to a nuclear strike even when armed with conventional warheads.
The Russian military has said the missile can carry either nuclear or conventional payloads and has the range to hit targets across Europe.
When the weapon was first used, Ukraine’s military said it carried six independently targetable warheads, each releasing six submunitions. Russian military bloggers later claimed the submunitions were unarmed but carried extremely high kinetic energy, causing damage equivalent to several tonnes of explosives.