Russia Strikes Ukraine with 90 Missiles, 600 Drones in Overnight Barrage; Nuclear-Capable Oreshnik Missile Fired Near Kyiv

In the Kyiv region alone, authorities reported at least one dead and more than 20 hurt. “Tonight the Kyiv region once again suffered a massive enemy attack with combat drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles,” Mykola Kalaschnyk, the head of the regional military administration, said in a statement. Fires and damage to residential buildings were reported across the capital.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv earlier released an alert warning that “out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy assesses that a potentially significant air attack could occur at any time within the next 24 hours.” The warning came as the Ukrainian military tracked a large Russian strike package assembling in the air and on launch pads.

Embassy Warning Precedes the Barrage

The most alarming feature of the attack was the confirmed use of an Oreshnik intermediate-range missile. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the weapon struck near Kyiv, marking the first time the nuclear-capable missile has been launched at the capital. The Oreshnik (Russian for “hazel bush”) is designed to carry a nuclear warhead and has a top speed of over 12,000 kilometers per hour, a range of 3,000 to 5,500 kilometers, and the ability to maneuver in flight—making it a threat across the European continent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously boasted that the missile’s speed and trajectory make it “impossible” for modern air-defense systems to intercept. The Kremlin said the Oreshnik can destroy targets at distances between 3,000 and 5,500 kilometers, putting most of Europe within its arc.

Nuclear-Capable Missile Strikes Near Kyiv

In the occupied Luhansk region, Russian-backed officials said a college and its student dormitory in the town of Starobilsk were hit, killing 21 people. The toll included mostly young women, with 18 confirmed dead and 42 injured in that single strike, according to Russian reports. Ukrainian officials did not immediately confirm the details but have repeatedly accused Moscow of placing military assets in civilian areas.

Overall, Ukraine’s Air Force recorded 690 incoming projectiles—600 drones and 90 missiles—with the heaviest concentration over Kyiv. Air-defense teams neutralized 604 targets, but wreckage and impact still caused casualties and property damage across urban neighborhoods.

Civilian suffering was stark. In Kyiv, at least two people were killed and about 70 injured, hospitalizing 30, among them two children. In a separate summary, Ukrainian authorities said four people died across the country and around 100 were wounded.

Civilians Bear the Brunt

ARD correspondent Susanne Petersohn, reporting from Kyiv, described a night of deep fear. “I think nobody in Kyiv slept last night,” she said. “We are fine, but the shock is still deep.” She and her team ran into a metro station between two waves of attacks: “We had to sprint into the subway between attack waves that were shorter than we expected. That was a frightening night given the scale of the attacks.”

Petersohn noted that the unpredictability has become a pattern: “Every time you think you’ve found a rule, the tactic changes again.” She said her team packed a few things and moved to a hotel, but vowed to keep reporting. ARD studio chief Vassili Golod praised the crew: “I have enormous respect for our team, who do not let themselves be intimidated by this aggression and focus entirely on what our task is: to report what is happening.”

Zelenskyy thanked journalists working under constant threat. On the social network X, he wrote: “I thank all reporters who work under constant threat to tell the world the truth.” He singled out German public broadcaster ARD and all German media present in Ukraine for their “committed work and fact-based reporting.”

Journalists Witness the Terror

The international response was swift and sharp. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Russia of “nuclear sabre-rattling” and condemned the use of the Oreshnik missile as a political intimidation tactic. “Russia is stuck in a dead end on the battlefield, which is why it is terrorizing Ukraine with targeted strikes on city centers,” she wrote on X. “These abhorrent acts of terror are designed to kill as many civilians as possible.” EU foreign ministers would discuss how to increase international pressure on Russia at their upcoming meeting, she added.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the Oreshnik strike evidence of Moscow’s “dead end” in its war of aggression. “Germany remains firmly at Ukraine’s side,” a German government statement said. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney demanded Russia “immediately halt these attacks and end this illegal war of aggression. They prolong suffering and change nothing about the fact that Russia will lose this war.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha accused Russia of trying to compensate for its lack of battlefront progress by launching “barbaric rocket attacks” on civilians. “Putin is trying to intimidate Ukraine by attacking civilians and destroying residential buildings, museums, schools and critical infrastructure,” he said. Sybiha called for a “strong response from the international community” and said Ukraine had requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

World Leaders Condemn Russia

Russian officials defended the assault. The defense ministry in Moscow said it was a response to Ukraine’s “terrorist attacks” on civilian objects inside Russia. Deputy head of the Russian national security council Dmitry Medvedev said the “hard response” was provoked by the killing of children and pledged further hits: “We must strike—like today and even harder.”

Zelenskyy criticized the Oreshnik deployment as “truly irresponsible” and insisted that the international community must ensure such actions carry consequences. “It is important that this does not remain without consequences for Russia,” he said.

Calls for Accountability

Despite the heavy air battles, Ukraine’s air force demonstrated sustained defensive capability, downing the majority of incoming threats. However, the sheer volume of salvos and the performance of the Oreshnik missile underscored the peril faced by civilian populations and the difficulty of achieving complete protection even with Western-supplied air-defense systems.

The U.S. Embassy alert and the overnight attacks served as a brutal reminder that the war’s front lines can shift to urban airspaces without warning, testing the resilience of both Ukraine’s defenses and its people.