Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that the military has used the new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in a strike on Ukraine.
The ministry said the attack was a retaliation to what Moscow
said was a Ukrainian drone strike on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence last month. Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected the Russian claim of the attack on Putin’s residence.
The ministry said the latest strike also involved other ground- and sea-launched missiles to target Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and missiles, killing four and injuring at least 22 in the capital overnight into Friday, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russia also struck critical infrastructure in the western city of Lviv using an unidentified ballistic missile, said Mayor Andriy Sadoviy. The Western Command of Ukraine's Air Force later said the missile traveled at a speed of 13,000 kilometers (more than 8,000 miles) per hour, and that the specific type of rocket was being investigated.
Among the dead was an emergency medical aid worker, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. Five rescue workers sustained injuries while responding to the site of ongoing attacks, said Ukraine's security service.
Several districts in Kyiv were hit in the attack, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In the Desnyanskyi district a drone crashed onto the roof of a multi-story building. At another address in the same district the first two floors of a residential building were damaged as a result of the attack.
In Dnipro district, parts of a drone damaged a multi-story building and a fire broke out.
Running water and electricity were disrupted in parts of the capital as a result of the attack, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The attack took place just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alerted the nation about Russia’s intentions for a large-scale offensive. He said that Russia aimed to take advantage of the frigid weather in the capital, making roads and streets perilously icy.
