Russia Pounds Kyiv in Attack with Hypersonic Oreshnik
Russia launched one of the largest combined air assaults of the war against Ukraine overnight on May 23-24, firing 90 missiles and 600 drones at the capital Kyiv in a devastating attack that deployed the hypersonic, nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile for the third time in the conflict. Ukrainian air defense forces intercepted 604 of the 690 aerial threats, but at least four people were killed and more than 77 wounded across Kyiv and the surrounding region, according to NPR.
Context and Background
The attack came as retaliation ordered directly by President Vladimir Putin after Russia accused Ukraine of a drone strike on a college in Starobilsk, a town in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, on May 22. Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations reported 21 killed and 42 injured in that strike. Ukraine has denied targeting the college.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned Ukrainians hours before the attack that large-scale strikes involving the Oreshnik missile were imminent, citing intelligence from Ukraine, European partners, and the United States. The warning proved prescient as the assault began shortly after midnight.
The Attack: Scale and Composition
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 690 aerial threats in total: 90 missiles and 600 drones of various types. The missile arsenal included one RS-26 Rubezh (Oreshnik) intermediate-range ballistic missile, two Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, three 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, 30 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, and 54 Kh-101/Iskander-K/Kalibr cruise missiles, according to UNIAN. The drone fleet consisted of Shahed, Gerbera, and Italmas unmanned aerial vehicles launched from multiple directions including Bryansk, Kursk, Oryol, Millerovo, and Crimea.
The attack began shortly after midnight with ballistic missiles targeting Kyiv, followed by waves of Shahed drones entering Ukrainian airspace from multiple directions. The assault continued in waves through the night, with cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea and bombers joining the barrage. The attacks only began to subside around 5-6 AM local time.
The Oreshnik Missile
The Oreshnik — designated RS-26 Rubezh by Russia and SS-X-31 by NATO — is a solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile based on the RS-24 Yars ICBM but modified for theater strike missions. Putin has previously claimed the missile travels “like a meteorite” at hypersonic speeds and is immune to any existing missile defense system.
This was the third combat use of the Oreshnik in the war. Its first use was against Dnipro in November 2024, followed by a strike on the Lviv region in January 2026. On May 24, the missile struck the area of Bila Tserkva, a city approximately 50 miles south of Kyiv, after being launched from the Kapustin Yar test range in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed to BBC Ukraine that the missile was used without a nuclear warhead.
Casualties and Destruction
In Kyiv, at least two people were killed and 77 wounded, according to Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko. The victims included women aged 86 and 44. Two additional fatalities were reported in the broader Kyiv region. In Cherkasy, 11 people were injured, including two children, after a drone struck a nine-story residential building.
The cultural toll was severe. The Chernobyl Museum, dedicated to the 1986 nuclear disaster, was destroyed. The National Art Museum of Ukraine was damaged. One of Kyiv’s oldest markets burned down, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building was damaged for the first time since World War II. Ukraine’s Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna said the attack damaged the largest number of cultural institutions in Kyiv since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion.
Air Defense Performance
Ukrainian air defense forces performed remarkably under the onslaught, shooting down or suppressing 55 of 90 missiles and 549 of 600 drones — an overall interception rate of approximately 87.5%. However, 16 missiles and 51 drones still struck their targets across 54 locations. The air defense successfully intercepted 44 of 54 cruise missiles and 11 of 30 ballistic missiles, but none of the Kinzhal or Zircon hypersonic missiles were shot down.
International Reaction
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack on social media, stating: “Russia’s massive attack on Ukraine last night shows the Kremlin’s brutality and disregard for both human life and peace negotiations. Terror against civilians is not strength. It’s despair.” She announced the European Union was sending more support to reinforce Ukraine’s air defense systems.
President Zelenskyy described the attackers as “really unhinged” in a Facebook video, warning that the use of such weapons “sets a global precedent for other potential aggressors.”
Geopolitical Context
The attack unfolds against a backdrop of stalled peace negotiations and shifting geopolitical dynamics. The United States is simultaneously engaged in a war with Israel against Iran, diverting attention and resources from Ukraine. The Trump administration has reportedly loosened some sanctions on Russian oil exports to compensate for energy shortfalls caused by the Iran conflict, potentially enabling Russia to continue funding its war effort.
Ukrainian forces have been conducting long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia in recent weeks, targeting oil refineries, depots, and logistics hubs. A previous massive attack on Kyiv on May 14-15 killed 24 people.
What’s Next
The repeated use of the Oreshnik missile signals Russia’s willingness to deploy its most advanced strategic weapons in conventional roles, raising questions about escalation dynamics and the strain on Ukraine’s air defense capabilities. As the Guardian reported, Zelenskyy has called for a preventive international response, urging pressure on Moscow “so that it does not expand the war.” With Western attention divided between multiple conflicts, the key question remains whether Ukraine’s partners can provide sufficient air defense systems to counter future mass attacks of this scale.