Russia uses hypersonic Oreshnik missile in mass attack on Kyiv

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. 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. 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. …