Russia uses hypersonic Oreshnik missile in mass attack on Kyiv

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Russia uses hypersonic Oreshnik missile in mass attack on Kyiv May 24, 20265:12 AM ET By The Associated Press A man carries a box from a burning trade center after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, May 24, 2026. Evgeniy Maloletka/AP hide caption toggle caption Evgeniy Maloletka/AP KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday Russia used the powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile during a mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv on Sunday that killed at least two people, marking the third time the weapon has been used in the four-year war. The intense aerial assault damaged buildings across the Ukrainian capital, including near government offices, residential buildings and schools.

The Oreshnik, which is capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads, struck the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. The target was not immediately clear. Sponsor Message Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday confirmed it used the Oreshnik, as well as other missile types, to strike Ukrainian "military command and control facilities," air bases and military industrial enterprises.

The Details

It did not specify where the targets were. The ministry added the attack was retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on "civilian facilities on Russian territory", without immediately giving detail. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday denounced a drone strike on a college dormitory in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, which Moscow blames on Kyiv, and ordered the Russian military to submit its proposals for retaliation.

He said there were no military or law enforcement facilities near the college. The death toll from the strike in Starobilsk had risen to 21 as search-and-rescue operations closed, the press service of Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said late on Saturday. It said 42 other people had been injured in the attack the previous night.

The Kremlin-installed authorities of the Luhansk region announced two days of mourning on Sunday and Monday to honor the victims. Security Council emergency meeting on the strike, held at the request of Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Melnyk denied his Russian counterpart's accusations of war crimes, calling them a "pure propaganda show" and asserting that the May 22 operations "exclusively targeted the Russian war machine. " Sponsor Message Ukraine and its allies have accused Russia of routinely targeting civilians and key civilian infrastructure since the early days of the war.

What Experts Say

The Kremlin denies this. Russia says the Oreshnik is immune to any missile defense system Russia first used the multiple-warhead Oreshnik on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024. It was used a second time in January in the western Lviv region.

The latest combined attack included 600 strike drones and 90 air, sea and ground-launched missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed and jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.