Smoke rises above Kiev following Russian strikes to Ukraine's capital on May 24, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.(AFP)
Russia has used its nuclear-capable ballistic missile — dubbed Oreshnik — three times in the war against Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, it is a "state-of-the-art" weapon that cannot be intercepted.
On May 24, the intermediate-range projectile struck an undisclosed location in Bila Tserkva, a town in greater Kiev, the Ukrainian army said.
In early January, the hypersonic missile hit a major gas depot in the Lviv region in western Ukraine, local officials said.
Named after the Russian word for hazel tree, it was first fired at a plant in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in 2024, Moscow said. The rocket did not carry a nuclear payload in any of the three strikes.
Daylight revealed rescue workers extinguishing fires and sifting through debris of heavily damaged buildings — houses, shopping centres, museums, theatres, schools and universities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier threatened retaliation for Ukrainian strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine that killed 21 people in a vocational school.
The Ukrainian air force said the raid involved 600 drones and 90 missiles, of which 549 drones and 55 missiles were intercepted.
Kiev has been grappling with an acute air defense missile deficit since the US-Israeli air campaign against Iran drove up demand for US-made Patriot rounds.
European leaders reacted by saying the salvo showed Russia's desperation.
"Terror against civilians is not strength. It's despair," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the strikes signalled "the dead end of Russia's war of aggression", while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the use of Oreshnik a "reckless escalation".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged more action from allies. "I am grateful to everyone now expressing words of support. But concrete steps to bolster air defense are also needed — missile deliveries must not stop for a single day," he said on social media.
He earlier said the Russians hit dozens of residential buildings, schools, a water supply facility and a market in a "genuinely deranged" attack.
Russia's army confirmed it had launched the Oreshnik at Ukraine for the third time in the war, saying it was "in response to Ukraine's terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure on Russian territory". The missile was used without a nuclear warhead.
Moscow denied targeting civilians, saying it had struck command posts of the Ukrainian army and intelligence.
Four people were killed and more than 100 were wounded in Kiev and the surrounding region, local officials said. Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko said damage had been recorded in every district of the capital.
The residence of the Albanian ambassador was also hit and the Balkan country summoned the Russian envoy in protest.
Buildings housing a studio of German broadcaster ARD and an office for German outlet DW were damaged as well, the companies said in statements. Both premises were empty of people at the time.
Projectiles also hit other Ukrainian regions, with dozens of wounded reported in the Kharkiv, Cherkasy and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Attacks continued during the day, with a shelling killing two and wounding 17 in the frontline city of Kherson.
