At least four people have been killed and over a hundred injured in Ukraine in intense overnight Russian bombardments, which particularly targeted the capital, according to authorities, with both Kiev and Moscow reporting the use of Russia’s nuclear-capable Orechnik ballistic missile.
Journalists from AFP witnessed extensive bombardments on the capital overnight from Saturday to Sunday, which resulted in at least four deaths in Kiev and its region, just days after a deadly Ukrainian attack on a school in a region occupied by Russia, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to promise a military response.
Russia targeted Ukraine with “90 missiles and 600 drones,” of which 55 and 549, respectively, were intercepted, according to the Ukrainian army on Sunday morning.
Moscow used its hypersonic ballistic missile Orechnik, with intermediate range and the capability to carry nuclear warheads, as mentioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that several of these missiles were used, while Kiev has only reported one strike so far. Moscow claims to have targeted only Ukrainian military-related objectives in response to Kiev’s strikes on its territory.
European leaders reacted, stating that the use of the Orechnik missile revealed Russia’s “desperation.” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated, “Terrorism against civilians is not strength. It’s despair,” while French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Moscow’s “headlong rush,” and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the use of Orechnik as “irresponsible escalation.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni deplored “a progressive escalation in the scale of weapons used.”
This is the third time Moscow has used this missile on Ukraine since the beginning of its invasion in February 2022, without nuclear warheads.
Russia deployed it last year in Belarus, a Moscow-allied country bordering three NATO and EU member states – Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia – as well as Ukraine.
Russian President had promised a military response after a Ukrainian drone strike on school buildings in Starobilsk, in the occupied eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, resulting in 21 deaths and over 40 injuries.
Negotiations under American mediation to end this conflict, the worst in Europe since WWII, have been at a standstill since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East. “Decisions are necessary from the US, Europe, and others for Moscow to finally say the word ‘peace’,” stated Mr. Zelensky.
