Ukraine’s capital city faced a large-scale assault involving missiles and drones during the early morning hours of Sunday, following warnings from Ukrainian air forces about a potential hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile launch by Russia.
The city experienced multiple explosions just after 1 a.m. local time, occurring shortly after military officials announced the possibility of an Oreshnik missile strike through their Telegram communications channel. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, reported via Telegram that no fewer than three individuals sustained injuries and multiple residential structures suffered damage throughout the capital. He also noted that burning debris was discovered on the grounds of a centrally-located school.
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had issued a warning that Russia was planning to use the Oreshnik missile system against Ukraine, based on intelligence gathered from Ukrainian, American, and European sources. Ukrainian air force officials have not yet provided confirmation regarding whether an Oreshnik missile successfully struck any targets during the attack.
This marks the third time Russia has deployed the Oreshnik weapon system against Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has previously claimed this missile cannot be intercepted due to its reported speed exceeding ten times the velocity of sound.
The president’s earlier warning followed Putin’s directive to his armed forces to develop retaliatory options against Ukraine in response to a drone attack on student housing facilities in the Russian-occupied Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian military officials stated their forces had aimed at a Russian drone operations center during that strike.
