A widespread destruction in a violent and extensive Russian missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital
Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv that killed four people early Sunday, authorities said, after President Vladimir Putin vowed to retaliate against strikes targeting Moscow-controlled eastern Ukraine.
Several loud explosions been heard in the Ukrainian capital throughout the early hours of the morning, in an attack that the air force said involved 600 drones and 90 missiles.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed in the capital and 56 others were injured, while the governor of the Kyiv region reported that two people were also killed there and nine others were injured.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported on Telegram that it had detected a total of 90 missiles and 600 drones of various types, particularly medium-range ballistic missiles, explaining that 55 missiles and 549 drones were intercepted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that during the attack, the Russians launched a hypersonic Oreshnik missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Zelensky said on Telegram, “Three Russian missiles targeted a water supply facility, a market was burned, dozens of residential buildings were damaged, as well as a number of schools, and Putin launched his Oreshnik missile at Bila Tserkva in central Ukraine,” adding, “They are truly deranged”.
Later, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the use of Oreshnik medium-range nuclear-capable missiles, saying it was in response to Ukraine’s terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure on Russian territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry also noted that it used Iskander air-launched ballistic missiles, Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles, and Zircon cruise missiles, in addition to drones.
From his part, Zelensky warned on Saturday of the possibility that Russia might launch a massive imminent strike, potentially using its Oreshnik missile.
He added, “We see signs of preparations for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv, using different types of weapons,” including the Oreshnik medium-range missile, calling on residents to act responsibly and head to shelters if the sirens sound.
The US Embassy in Kyiv also announced in a statement published on its website that it had received information about a potentially massive air attack that could occur at any time during the next 24 hours.
The Russian military deployed the Oreshnik missile, its latest hypersonic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, last year in Belarus, a Moscow ally bordering three NATO and EU member states: Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, as well as Ukraine.
Moscow has already used this missile twice since it began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022: in November 2024 against a military factory and in January 2026 against an aviation industry center in western Ukraine near the NATO border; In both cases, the missile did not carry a nuclear warhead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed a military response to a Ukrainian drone strike that targeted a vocational college in the Russian controlled Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine late Thursday and early Friday, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 40.
Kyiv denied targeting civilian sites, asserting that it struck a Russian drone unit stationed in the area.
Zelensky called on the international community to put pressure on Russia to dissuade it from launching a similar attack, warning that Ukraine will respond fully and equally to every Russian strike.
