4 Russian missile types in use Ukraine experiences a night of horror - Oreshnik also fired
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi demanded that the Russian attacks should not remain without consequences.
Image: dpa
Many houses and other civilian buildings in particular were damaged.
Image: dpa
Russia speaks of a retaliatory strike for the Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Image: dpa
Dozens of people in the capital Kiev were injured in the Russian attacks.
Image: dpa
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi demanded that the Russian attacks should not remain without consequences.
Image: dpa
Many houses and other civilian buildings in particular were damaged.
Image: dpa
Russia speaks of a retaliatory strike for the Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Image: dpa
Dozens of people in the capital Kiev were injured in the Russian attacks.
Image: dpa
During the night, Russia bombarded Kiev with extensive missile and drone attacks - loud explosions could be heard repeatedly throughout the night. 69 people were injured in the capital and 2 others were killed.
24.05.2026, 16:08
SDA
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- Russia attacked Ukraine during the night with a total of 600 drones and 90 missiles.
- In addition to three other missile systems, the new Oreshnik medium-range missile, which is particularly feared for its destructive power, was also used.
- According to the Interfax agency, this was a response to the "terrorist attacks" by Ukraine on civilian objects in Russia.
Russia has once again deployed the new Oreshnik medium-range missile, which is particularly feared for its destructive power, in Ukraine - for the first time near the capital Kiev. It was a response to the "terrorist attacks" by Ukraine on civilian objects in Russia, according to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. According to Ukrainian sources, the missile hit the large town of Bila Zerkwa in the Kiev region.
The Russian military leadership claimed that combined attacks with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones had hit targets in the Ukrainian arms industry, military infrastructure and command posts, among others. This information cannot be independently verified and has not been confirmed by the Ukrainian side. However, the Interfax news agency reports, citing the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, that the Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinshal and Zircon missile systems were used.
The Oreshnik missile, which is also stationed in Belarus by Moscow, can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. Its extremely high speed of up to 12,000 kilometers per hour and its range of up to 5,000 kilometers make it a potential threat to the entire European continent.
Selenskyj criticizes Oreshnik deployment as "irresponsible"
"This is really irresponsible. It is important that this does not remain without consequences for Russia," said Selenskyj. He did not provide any information on the damage in Bila Zerkwa. It was therefore the third use of the weapon in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine - once without warheads in Dnipro in south-eastern Ukraine and most recently in western Ukraine in January.
Selensky had already warned of a new attack with an Oreshnik missile the previous evening, citing information from Western intelligence services.
Previously, the Ukrainian air defense had spoken of a combined attack with 600 drones, 90 rockets and cruise missiles. Oreshnik was not initially included in the list of ballistic missiles. It was reported that 604 flying objects had been destroyed or intercepted.
Dead and dozens injured in Kiev
"Unfortunately, not all ballistic missiles could be shot down. Most of the hits were in Kiev, and Kiev was the main target of this Russian attack," said Selenskyj. "Three Russian missiles against a water supply plant, a market was burned down, dozens of residential buildings and several ordinary schools were damaged."
The museum commemorating the Chernobyl nuclear disaster was also practically destroyed. When visiting the museum, which had been badly hit by the air raids, Selensky reacted drastically in the morning with the words: "Crazy assholes".
There was also damage to the building of the national art museum, where the German television station ARD also has its studio, the president announced.
69 people were injured in the capital and 2 others were killed, said Selenskyj. Following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, he said: "It is important that Russia understands that it must bear responsibility for all its crimes."
EU: Russia's heinous acts of terrorism
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas condemned Russia's attack. Moscow was using the Oreshnik medium-range missile as a political intimidation tactic. "Russia has reached a dead end on the battlefield, which is why it is terrorizing Ukraine with targeted attacks on city centers," she wrote on Platform X.
"These heinous acts of terror are designed to kill as many civilians as possible." At their meeting next week, the EU foreign ministers will discuss how international pressure on Russia can be further increased, the EU foreign policy chief said.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told X that Russia was showing its disregard for human lives and peace negotiations. "Terror against civilians is not strength. It is desperation."
It was one of the heaviest Russian airstrikes in Moscow's war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for more than four years. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Iskander ballistic missiles, Kinschal hypersonic missiles and Zirkon cruise missiles had also been used.
Medvedev calls for even tougher strikes against Kiev
The "harsh response" was provoked after the killing of children, said the deputy head of the Russian National Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev. "Let everything burn with blue flames!" the former president wrote on Telegram, referring to the explosions, fires and destruction in Kiev.
"We must strike - like today and even harder," said Medvedev. Ruins and ashes in the capital could discourage the enemy. At the same time, Medvedev said that Ukraine could use the images of devastation to ask its Western allies for more weapons and money for the war.
The attack is primarily seen as a response to a Ukrainian attack on a vocational school on Friday in the Russian-occupied region of Luhansk. Twenty-one young people died and dozens were injured.
Zelensky reacts with malice to Putin's appearance
Zelensky accused Putin of destroying residential buildings with his missiles - and of "not even being able to pronounce the word "hurray" correctly". The Russian president "slurs his words", said Selensky, referring to an appearance by Putin on Friday in the Kremlin in front of graduates of the "Time of Heroes" training program. A video, which was also distributed by state media, shows Putin shouting a triple "hurrah" at the end as a sign of his certainty of victory in the war - it sounds unusually weak by his standards.
Selensky said that everything had to be done to create peace and protect the people. This would also require decisions by the USA, Europe and other allies so that the old Kremlin leader - Zelensky called him an old "Oreshnik" - would learn to pronounce the word "peace".
