Russia used a powerful hypersonic missile to carry out a massive attack in Kyiv on Sunday, killing at least two people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The Oreshnik ballistic missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, was used for the third time since the war began in 2022.
The intense aerial assault, involving both drone and missile strikes, left buildings damaged across the Ukrainian capital, including near government offices, residential buildings, a market and schools.
Rescue workers try to put out a fire at a residential building after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka
At least 83 people were wounded. The Oreshnik struck the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region. Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed it used the Oreshnik to strike Ukrainian military command and control facilities, air bases and military industrial enterprises, calling it retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the Oreshnik streaks at Mach 10, is immune to any missile defense system, and can be as devastating as a nuclear strike. The combined attack included 600 strike drones and 90 missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 549 drones and 55 missiles.
This attack highlights Ukraine's chronic shortage of air defense missiles capable of downing ballistics. Kyiv relies heavily on U.S. Patriot systems, but interceptor missiles remain in critically short supply.
European leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, condemned the strikes. Kallas called them "abhorrent acts of terror."