Russia says it fired its Oreshnik hypersonic missile at Ukraine

The Russian military said it had fired its hypersonic Oreshnik missile at a target in Ukraine in response to what it described as an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences, something ‌Kyiv has called ‌a lie.

It is the second time that Russia has used the intermediate-range Oreshnik, a missile which President Vladimir Putin has boasted is impossible to ‌intercept because of its reported velocity of more than 10 times the speed of sound.

The missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads as well as conventional ones, but there was no suggestion that the one used in the overnight attack had been fitted with anything other than a conventional warhead.


The Russian Defence Ministry said the strike had targeted ​critical infrastucture in Ukraine. It said Russia had also used attack ​drones and high-precision long-range land and sea-based weapons.

"The strike's targets were hit. The targets included facilities producing ‌unmanned aerial vehicles ‍used in the terrorist attack (allegedly against the Putin residence), as well as energy infrastructure supporting ‍Ukraine's military-industrial complex," the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine has called the ‌Russian allegation that its drones tried to attack one of Putin's residences in the Novogorod region at the end of December "an absurd lie" designed to sabotage already troubled peace talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he doesn't believe the strike on the residence happened, but that "something" unrelated happened fairly nearby.

STRIKE REPORTED BY HEAD OF WESTERN UKRAINIAN REGION

The governor of Ukraine's western Lviv region had earlier said that a Russian attack had struck an infrastructure target, which unverified social media reports said was a massive underground gas storage ‍facility.

Reuters could not verify that.

The Ukrainian air force confirmed on Friday that Russia had fired an Oreshnik missile launched from the Kapustin Yar test range near the Caspian Sea.

Moscow first ‍fired an Oreshnik - ⁠Russian for hazel tree - against ⁠what it said was a military factory in Ukraine in November 2024. On that occasion Ukrainian sources said the missile was carrying dummy warheads, not explosives, and caused limited damage.

Putin has said that the Oreshnik's destructive power is comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, even when fitted with a conventional warhead.

Some Western officials have expressed scepticism about the Oreshnik's capabilities. One U.S. official said in December 2024 that the weapon was not seen as a game-changer on the battlefield.

Russia released video in December of what it said was the deployment of the Oreshnik missile system in close ally Belarus, a move meant to boost Moscow's ability to strike targets across Europe in the event of a war.

CASUALTIES, POWER SUPPLIES DISRUPTED IN ATTACK ON KYIV

Russia fired a total of 242 drones and 36 missiles, including Oreshnik, to hit infrastructure in the western Lviv region and in and around the capital Kyiv, Ukraine said.

Authorities said at least four people were killed and more than 20 injured by the strikes on Kyiv, which knocked out electricity to more than half a million homes in the capital. Water and heat were cut off, with temperatures around -10 degrees Celsius (14°F) and heavy snow.

There was no immediate word from Qatar ‍about reports of damage to the building housing its embassy in Kyiv. Qatar has occasionally acted as a mediator in the conflict.

The Oreshnik was fired just before midnight, according to Lviv regional officials. The Ukrainian military said the missile was moving ‍at a speed ⁠of 13,000 km per hour.

"The strike's targets ⁠were hit," Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement, describing the targets as a factory producing drones used in the alleged attack against Putin's residence, as well as energy infrastructure.

Russian war correspondents released video purportedly showing the moment the Oreshnik struck its target in western Ukraine. Filmed across a snow-covered landscape, what looked like six flashes were seen striking the ground followed by a loud bang and a series of detonations. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video.

Moscow first fired an Oreshnik - Russian for "hazel tree" - against what it said was a military factory in Ukraine in November 2024. On that occasion Ukrainian sources said the missile was carrying dummy warheads, not explosives, and caused limited damage.

Ukrainian and U.S. envoys, joined by a coalition of Ukraine's allies, have been negotiating in Paris this week to iron out remaining disagreements in a peace framework Washington is seeking to thrash out with Kyiv before presenting it to Russia.