Russia fires Oreshnik missile at Ukraine as part of barrage | Today’s news
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kiev came under massive Russian drone and missile fire early Sunday, which included an Oreshnik ballistic missile, hours after he and the US embassy warned of an imminent strike.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the use of the medium-range hypersonic Oreshnik in a statement on Telegram. The missile was previously used in November and January.
In total, Kremlin forces fired 90 missiles and 600 drones at Kiev and several other major cities, Ukraine’s air force said in a statement. The Oresnik missile is targeting the town of Bila Cerkva, a regional center south of Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. The Air Force said it shot down 55 missiles and 549 drones, while another 19 missiles likely missed their target.
At least two people were killed in Kyiv, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on Telegram. Another two people died in the wider area of the capital, local governor Mykola Kalashnyk said in Telegram. Zelenskyy said that at least 83 people were injured and that the main target of the attack was Kiev.
“It is important that this does not remain without consequences for Russia,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram. “We need solutions from the United States, Europe and others.”
Authorities in the capital said rocket debris fell in at least three neighborhoods and that residential buildings, vehicles and a warehouse were damaged in the attack.
Air raid sirens also sounded in several other regions of Ukraine, local authorities reported.
Ukraine’s air defenses issued a ballistic missile and drone strike warning and asked civilians to seek shelter as NATO intervened with jets in Poland.
Zelenskyy said on social media late Saturday that Ukraine had received intelligence, including information from US and European partners, that Russia was preparing a major strike against Ukraine that could include the Oreshnik missile. The first strikes came a few hours later.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered defense officials to prepare what he said were options for retaliation after he accused Ukraine of attacking a university in the occupied Luhansk region. The death toll from this incident is at least 18.
Ukraine rejected Putin’s claim that civilian facilities had been hit and said on Telegram that its forces had hit the headquarters of a Russian drone unit operating in Starobilsk.
“This strike was probably intended to demonstrate ‘strength’ to a domestic audience, but instead it only confirms Putin’s weakness,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement on Sunday at the X. The Foreign Ministry building in Kyiv suffered light damage from nearby explosions, the first time since World War II, he said.
He urged Kiev’s allies to increase pressure on Russia and provide additional air defense capabilities.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said its forces intercepted 33 Ukrainian drones over several areas, including the Moscow region. One person died in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported, citing local officials.
Ukraine’s General Staff also said it hit an oil terminal in the Black Sea port of Taman and damaged oil loading equipment. Regional authorities have not mentioned any activity near Taman.
It is the latest Ukrainian strike on Russian energy infrastructure, part of a broader effort to stop the Kremlin from benefiting from the global oil rally sparked by the Iran war.
Ukraine said it attacked a terminal in Taman earlier this month. On Saturday, its forces attacked the Sheskharis oil terminal, the largest on Russia’s Black Sea coast.
This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.
