Russia carried out a large-scale overnight wave of strikes against Ukraine, firing approximately 90 missiles and 600 drones beginning at 6:00 p.m. local time Saturday. Four people were killed in Kyiv and the wider region. About 100 people were injured across the country, according to reporting by BBC News.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was the main target. Dozens of residential buildings, a school, an opera house and a museum were damaged. Loud explosions were heard across the capital throughout the night.
Russia's defence ministry said the Oreshnik hypersonic missile was used in the strikes, describing the attack as a response to Ukraine's strikes on civilian infrastructure. Ukraine's military denied targeting civilians. Zelensky said Russia launched the Oreshnik against the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region. Ukraine's presidential office later said it was not confirming that assessment and that work was ongoing to determine exactly what weapons had been used. It would be the third time Russia has used the Oreshnik in the conflict if confirmed.
The Oreshnik reportedly travels at more than 10 times the speed of sound, is difficult to intercept, and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.
European leaders condemned the overnight strikes. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz both condemned the reported use of the weapon. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described it as a "political scare-tactic and reckless nuclear-brinkmanship." UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lamented the "awful scenes" in Kyiv and vowed to "keep up pressure on Russia."
Earlier in the week, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv of hitting a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied town of Starobilsk on Friday, which Russian officials said killed 21 people. Ukraine's military acknowledged carrying out a strike in Starobilsk but said it targeted an elite Russian drone military unit.
Zelensky visited several damaged buildings in Kyiv on Sunday. At the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk said "all my heart and all my thoughts go to the people of Ukraine" after winning her first-round match. Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk, who defended his heavyweight world titles in Egypt on Saturday night, said: "I know right now, Ukrainian people are sitting in the bomb shelter, my daughter too, in a bomb shelter, sent me a message saying: 'Papa, I love you, you will win."
