Ukraine Zelensky warns of strike with Russian Oreshnik missile
Following Kiev's recent attacks on Russian targets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi expects Moscow to retaliate with the particularly feared new Oreshnik medium-range missile. "Our intelligence services have received reports, including from American and European partners, that Russia is preparing a strike with the Oreshnik missile," Zelenskyi announced on social media. The capital Kiev is therefore also in danger.
23.05.2026, 19:45
SDA
Russia has already used the ballistic missile with particularly high destructive power twice in its war of aggression against Ukraine - once in the large city of Dnipro in the south-east of the country without warheads and most recently in January in western Ukraine.
Selensky warned of a possible combined Russian attack with different types of weapons. "It is important to react responsibly to air alerts from this evening," he appealed to his compatriots. "Russian madness really knows no bounds, so protect your lives - use shelters."
Zelensky calls on the global community to respond
At the same time, Zelensky called on the international community to take "preventive action". Selensky did not say exactly what he meant by this. However, he added that there should not be an after-the-fact reaction. "Pressure must be exerted on Moscow so that it does not escalate the war," said Selensky. Ukraine would prepare its air defense as far as possible and respond.
"This war must end - we need peace, not missiles that satisfy the sick ambitions of an individual," said Zelenskyi, referring to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, who has been waging a destructive war of aggression against the country for more than four years.
Response to deadly strike against residential home threatened
Putin had ordered his defense ministry to prepare a response to the Ukrainian attack on a residential home in the town of Starobilsk in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region. According to Russian reports, at least 18 students from an educational institute died in the attack. The Ukrainian military stated that the target was a Russian military unit specializing in drone attacks against Ukraine.
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.
