Russia hits Kyiv with nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in massive attack

Russia’s use of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile over Kyiv signaled more than battlefield pressure. It was also a message to Ukraine and its allies that Moscow is still willing to widen the escalation ladder even as air defenses strain under one of the largest combined strikes of the war.

The overnight assault killed at least two people and wounded dozens more, with later updates putting the injured toll at 77 or 83. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 600 drones and 90 missiles, while Ukrainian defenses intercepted 549 drones and 55 missiles. Another 19 missiles may have failed to reach their targets, a reminder of how much of the attack was absorbed by air defenses rather than impact sites.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia used the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, a weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and designed to travel several thousand kilometers. He said it was the third known use of the missile in the war since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Ukrainian officials said the missile was fired at Bila Tserkva in Kyiv Oblast during the broader strike. Russia later confirmed it had launched the Oreshnik.

The attack hit Kyiv and surrounding areas, with damage reported near government offices, residential buildings, schools and a market. Ukrainian officials said damage was recorded across about 40 sites in the capital, while other updates put the tally at 54 locations. The strike left shattered windows, damaged facades and emergency crews working through multiple districts as the city absorbed another night of bombardment.

Zelenskyy had warned Ukrainians before the attack, citing European and U.S. intelligence, that Russia might launch an Oreshnik. That warning now looks like part of a broader pattern: Russia combining mass drone and missile fire with selective use of advanced systems to keep pressure on Ukrainian air defenses and to send a strategic signal beyond the immediate targets.

The political value of the strike may be as important as the military one. By using a hypersonic, nuclear-capable missile in a massive barrage, Moscow appeared to be testing not just Ukraine’s defenses but also the willingness of Ukraine’s partners to absorb repeated escalation without changing the balance of support. For Kyiv, the message was stark: the war’s air-defense contest is intensifying, and the risk calculus is now being shaped as much by signaling as by destruction.