Russia uses hypersonic missile on Kyiv

Russia struck Kyiv early on May 24 with one of its largest combined missile-and-drone attacks in recent months, setting off fires across the capital and damaging dozens of sites, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukraine’s air force warned before the barrage that Russia might launch an Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, and Russian state media later cited the Defense Ministry as saying Oreshnik was among the weapons used. Reuters reported four people were killed in Kyiv and the surrounding region, while dozens were injured. ### What exactly happened in Kyiv overnight? Kyiv was hit just after 1 a.m. local time on May 24 after air raid alerts escalated into explosions across the city, Reuters reported from the capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed in Kyiv and 56 were injured, with 30 hospitalized, while regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said two more people were killed in the surrounding Kyiv region. (thestar.com.my) More than 40 locations in Kyiv were damaged, according to the head of the city’s military administration cited by Reuters. Officials reported damage to residential buildings, offices, shops, warehouses and the foyer of a metro station, while black smoke rose over parts of the city after sunrise. ### Why did hypersonic weapons become part of the story? (thestar.com.my) Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram before the strikes that Russia might launch an Oreshnik ballistic missile, and explosions followed shortly afterward, Reuters reported. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had warned on May 23 that intelligence from Ukraine, the United States and Europe indicated Russia was preparing an Oreshnik strike. (thestar.com.my) Moscow later said the overnight attacks used four missile types — Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinzhal and Zircon — in what Russian state news agencies described as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on civilian targets in Russia. Reuters said it could not independently verify the Russian battlefield account. ### What is the Oreshnik, and why is it getting attention? (thestar.com.my) Reuters described Oreshnik as a ballistic missile with a range of several thousand kilometers that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the missile is impossible to intercept because of its reported speed of more than 10 times the speed of sound. (yahoo.com) AP reported on May 24 that Zelenskyy said Russia used the Oreshnik in the Kyiv attack and that this was the third time the weapon had been used in the war. AeroTime, citing the Ukrainian Air Force, separately reported that an Oreshnik was fired toward the Bila Tserkva area in Kyiv region from Russia’s Kapustin Yar range in Astrakhan region. (thestar.com.my) ### Do we know what else Russia launched? AeroTime, citing the Ukrainian Air Force, said Russia launched 690 weapons between the evening of May 23 and the morning of May 24, with Kyiv as the main direction of attack. That package included two Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, three Zircon missiles, 30 Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles, 54 cruise missiles and 600 attack drones and decoys, according to its report. (apnews.com) Reuters reported separately that many Kyiv residents spent hours sheltering in metro stations as the strikes continued. A 62-year-old resident, Nataliia Zvarych, told Reuters from a station platform that “it was terrifying” as explosions shook the city overhead. ### How much of the attack was intercepted? The Ukrainian military said its air defenses downed or suppressed 604 targets, including 55 missiles and 549 drones, AeroTime reported, citing the Air Force. (aerotime.aero) It said 16 missiles and 51 drones hit 54 locations across the country, while 19 missiles were assessed to have failed to reach their targets. (thestar.com.my) Russia’s Defense Ministry said through state news agencies that all of its strikes were successful and that they hit military command facilities, air bases and defense-industrial sites. Reuters said it could not independently verify that claim. ### What comes next? May 24 statements from Ukraine’s Air Force, President Zelenskiy and Russia’s Defense Ministry are likely to remain the main public record of what was launched and where it landed as damage assessments continue. (aerotime.aero) Reuters images from Kyiv showed firefighters working through the morning at a destroyed apartment building, while Ukrainian officials continued updating casualty and damage figures. (thestar.com.my) (yahoo.com)