Russia unleashed a massive overnight missile assault on Ukraine, deploying advanced hypersonic weapons and striking critical infrastructure perilously close to the frontier of the NATO alliance.
Major Barrage Targets Kyiv and Lviv
The skies over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, were illuminated for hours as Vladimir Putin's forces targeted the city with hundreds of missiles and drones. The attack damaged two major power stations, prompting authorities to order residents to evacuate due to widespread power and water outages. The embassy of Qatar was also reportedly damaged in the strikes.
Further west, the city of Lviv, situated just around 40 miles from Poland's border, was struck by a powerful Oreshnik ballistic missile. This marks only the second known deployment of this advanced weapon since its first use in Dnipro in late 2024.
The Threat of the Oreshnik Missile
The Oreshnik, known as 'Hazel shrub' in Russian, represents a significant escalation in Russia's arsenal. The missile is capable of travelling at nearly 8,000 miles per hour – approximately ten times the speed of sound. At that velocity, it could theoretically reach the United Kingdom in around 11 minutes.
While the current variants are believed to carry conventional warheads, defence analysts state the Oreshnik is powerful enough to be equipped with nuclear arms, making it a potent tool for nuclear intimidation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously boasted that these missiles cannot be stopped mid-air.
The timing of the attack is notable, coming some weeks after Russia stationed the Oreshnik system in neighbouring Belarus, a move designed to boost its strike capability in the region. Moscow's defence ministry claimed the air strike was retaliation for an alleged drone attack on Putin's state residence before New Year's Eve, a claim vehemently denied by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and viewed with scepticism by US and EU leaders.
International Condemnation and Accusations of War Crimes
The strike so close to the border of the European Union and NATO has sparked fierce international condemnation. Ukraine's security services said they are treating the attack on Lviv's infrastructure as a war crime, citing the targeting of civilian facilities in worsening winter conditions.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, warned the strike posed 'a grave threat to the security on the European continent'. Kaja Kallas, the EU's Estonian foreign policy chief, stated on social media platform X: 'Putin doesn't want peace, Russia's reply to diplomacy is more missiles and destruction.'
The barrage occurred in the same week as Ukrainian peace talks with envoys representing US President Donald Trump, casting a dark shadow over diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
