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MOSCOW – Russia has used its new intermediate-range Oreshnik ballistic missile to target Ukraine for a third time as it launched major attacks on the Kiev region overnight, Moscow confirmed on Sunday.
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The Russian Defense Ministry said the missile was deployed in response to Ukrainian “terrorist attacks” on Russian civilian targets.
Ukrainian authorities said the Oreshnik struck the city of Bila Tserkva near Kiev, marking the first time it was used to target the capital region.
Russian military officials claimed that combined attacks using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones had struck targets including the Ukrainian defense industry, military infrastructure and command centers.
The claims cannot be independently verified and have not been confirmed by Ukrainian officials.
Russia had threatened revenge for a Ukrainian attack on a school in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Luhansk region on Friday, in which 21 students were killed and dozens injured.
Moscow has also stationed the Oreshnik missile, which means “hazel bush” in Russian, in Belarus. The weapon can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.
It can reach extremely high speeds of up to 12,000 kilometers per hour, with a range of up to 5,000 kilometers, making it a potential threat to the wider European continent.
Zelenskyy slams use of Oreshnik as ‘unhinged’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack on Bila Tserkva showed that the Russians “really are unhinged,” adding that “it is important that this does not pass without consequences for Russia.”
Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, Russia previously used the Oreshnik without warheads to target Dnipro in southeastern Ukraine and most recently to attack western Ukraine in January.
Zelenskyy had already warned the previous evening that a new Oreshnik attack might be imminent, citing information from Western intelligence services.
Earlier, Ukraine’s air defense had spoken of a combined attack involving 600 drones, 90 missiles and cruise missiles. The Oreshnik was initially not listed among the ballistic missiles.
A total of 604 aerial objects had been destroyed or intercepted, it said.
“Unfortunately, not all of the ballistic missiles were intercepted – the largest number of hits was in Kyiv. Kyiv was the primary target of this Russian attack,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
Three Russian missiles hit a water supply facility, a market was burned down, and dozens of residential buildings and several ordinary schools were damaged, according to the president.
Four killed, 100 injured
In a follow-up post on X, Zelenskyy said that some 100 people were injured across the country in the strikes, with four killed.
In Kiev alone, some 30 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed, he said, without giving details on the aftermath in Bila Tserkva, which is located some 80 kilometers southwest of Kiev.
At least two people were killed in Kiev. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the number of injured in the capital has risen to 81.
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In a previous post, Zelenskyy had said that the Russian attacks “effectively destroyed” the Chernobyl Museum in Kiev, while damaging the National Art Museum and the building housing the office of Germany’s broadcaster ARD.
The ARD’s affiliate broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) confirmed that the TV studio used by ARD correspondents was hit.
A blast wave from the Russian attacks likely caused destruction in the centrally located studio. Windows were shattered, rooms were devastated and walls collapsed, the WDR said in a statement. No one was in the studio at the time of the attacks.
The Kiev bureau of Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster, was also hit, with windows and ceilings damaged in the strikes, Deutsche Welle said in a statement.
“Fortunately, no one was in the office during the attack,” bureau chief Mykola Berdnyk was quoted as saying.
European leaders condemn strikes
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas condemned the latest Russian attacks as “abhorrent acts of terror meant to kill as many civilians as possible.”
She described the use of the Oreshnik missile as “a political scare-tactic and reckless nuclear-brinkmanship,” in a post on X.
“Russia hit a dead-end on the battlefield, so it terrorizes Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centres.”
“Next week, EU Foreign Ministers will discuss how to dial up the international pressure on Russia.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condemned the attacks.
“Russia’s massive attack on Ukraine last night shows the Kremlin’s brutality and disregard for both human life and peace negotiations. Terror against civilians is not strength. It’s despair,” she wrote on X.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also slammed Russia for deploying the Oreshnik ballistic missile to target Ukraine.
“The German government sharply condemns this reckless escalation,” Merz posted on X. “Germany continues to stand firmly at Ukraine’s side.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the deployment of the Oreshnik “shocking,” describing use of the new system as a further escalation. He said its use was confirmation that the proposals made at a recent NATO foreign ministers’ meeting should be pursued rigorously.
The overnight attacks mark one of the heaviest air assault on Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that Iskander ballistic missiles, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and Zircon cruise missiles were also deployed in the strikes.
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This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 11:05 AM.