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Russia Launches 600-Drone Assault and Hypersonic Oreshnik Missile on Kyiv

Russia Launches 600-Drone Assault and Hypersonic Oreshnik Missile on Kyiv
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Russia launched one of the largest aerial assaults of the war on Kyiv and surrounding areas overnight into Sunday, striking with about 600 drones and 90 missiles and confirming the use of its hypersonic, nuclear‑capable Oreshnik ballistic missile, Ukrainian and Russian officials said msn +1. At least four people were killed and more than 80 wounded across the capital and Kyiv region, as explosions ripped through residential neighborhoods, schools, a market and infrastructure sites msn +1.

The Oreshnik missile struck the city of Bila Tserkva in Kyiv Oblast, south of the capital, in the weapon’s first known use near Kyiv and only its third confirmed use in the war independent +1. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the barrage targeted Ukrainian “military command and control facilities, air bases and military‑industrial enterprises” in retaliation for recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian‑held territory, while Kyiv accused Moscow of “terror” against civilians and cultural landmarks msn +2.

A Showcase of Hypersonic Power – and Its Limits

Russia has promoted the Oreshnik as an intermediate‑range, hypersonic ballistic missile capable of flying at about 10 times the speed of sound, carrying nuclear or conventional payloads and, in some versions, multiple projectiles msn +1. President Vladimir Putin previously claimed it travels “like a meteorite” and is immune to existing missile defenses bluewin. Western experts and officials have been more cautious, with one U.S. official earlier this year describing it as “not seen as a game-changer on the battlefield” despite its speed and range businesstimes-bd.

Debris analyses from earlier Oreshnik strikes suggested the missile may rely on decades‑old components and that some warheads may lack sophisticated terminal guidance, raising questions about its precision and reliability reuters +1. Ukrainian officials also said the missile used in Sunday’s attack carried a conventional, not nuclear, payload, underscoring its role as a theater weapon and a tool of intimidation rather than a nuclear threshold crossing independent +1. Even so, its combination of speed, range of several thousand kilometers and nuclear capability is seen by European governments as a direct security concern msn +1.

Strain on Ukraine’s Air Defenses and Diplomatic Fallout

Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted or jammed about 549 of the roughly 600 drones and 55 of around 90 missiles, with another 19 missiles reportedly failing before reaching their targets independent. But the sheer scale of the swarm strained already scarce stocks of high‑end interceptors used by systems such as U.S.-supplied Patriot batteries, which Kyiv relies on to counter ballistic missiles. Mayor Vitali Klitschko called it “a terrible night for Kyiv” as emergency crews battled fires and cleared shattered apartment blocks and a damaged water facility msn +1.

European leaders condemned the attack as a serious escalation. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia was trying to “terrorise Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centres,” while French President Emmanuel Macron argued that deploying the Oreshnik “signifies a form of escalation and the impasse of Russia’s war of aggression” independent +1. NATO member Poland scrambled jets during the barrage, though no alliance airspace was breached, reinforcing concerns that repeated Oreshnik launches from Russia or Belarus could raise risks around the bloc’s borders msn +1.

The Bigger Picture

The mass strike on Kyiv underlined how Russia is pairing high‑profile “wonder weapons” such as the Oreshnik with large-scale drone and missile salvos designed to saturate defenses, inflict civilian damage and sap Ukraine’s interceptor stocks. While the hypersonic missile itself may not transform the battlefield, its nuclear‑capable status and growing deployment in Belarus and western Russia have added a destabilizing layer to European security calculations, intensifying pressure on Ukraine’s allies to accelerate air-defense deliveries and to plan for a longer war fought under the shadow of advanced ballistic systems. msn +2