Moscow [Russia] / Kiev [Ukraine], May 25: Russia has used its new intermediate-range Oreshnik ballistic missile to target Ukraine for a third time as it launched major attacks on the Kiev region overnight, Moscow confirmed on Sunday.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the missile was deployed in response to Ukrainian "terrorist attacks" on Russian civilian targets.
Ukrainian authorities said the Oreshnik struck the city of Bila Tserkva near Kiev, marking the first time it was used to target the capital region.
Russian military officials claimed that combined attacks using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones had struck targets including the Ukrainian defence industry, military infrastructure and command centres.
The claims cannot be independently verified and have not been confirmed by Ukrainian officials.
Russia had threatened revenge for a Ukrainian attack on a school in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Luhansk region on Friday, in which 21 students were killed and dozens injured.
Moscow has also stationed the Oreshnik missile, which means hazel bush in Russian, in Belarus.
The weapon can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. It can reach extremely high speeds of up to 12,000 kilometres per hour, with a range of up to 5,000 kilometres, making it a potential threat to the wider European continent.
Zelensky slams use of Oreshnik as 'unhinged'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack on Bila Tserkva showed that the Russians "really are unhinged," adding that "it is important that this does not pass without consequences for Russia."
Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, Russia previously used the Oreshnik without warheads to target Dnipro in south-eastern Ukraine and most recently to attack western Ukraine in January.
Zelensky had already warned the previous evening that a new Oreshnik attack might be imminent, citing information from Western intelligence services.
Earlier, Ukraine's air defence had spoken of a combined attack involving 600 drones, 90 missiles and cruise missiles.
The Oreshnik was initially not listed among the ballistic missiles.
A total of 604 aerial objects had been destroyed or intercepted, it said.
"Unfortunately, not all of the ballistic missiles were intercepted - the largest number of hits was in Kyiv. Kyiv was the primary target of this Russian attack," Zelensky said in a post on X.
Source: Qatar Tribune
