Russia Launches Massive Attacks on Kyiv for Two Consecutive Nights; Ukraine Claims 'Oreshnik' Hypersonic Missile Used
Russia launched massive missile and drone attacks on various parts of Ukraine for two consecutive nights from May 24 to 25. Ukrainian officials stated that this round of attacks caused at least 16 deaths and hundreds of injuries, with severe losses in Kyiv and surrounding areas.
According to official Ukrainian reports, Russia launched approximately 600 attack drones and 90 missiles on the first night, including a hypersonic ballistic missile known as 'Oreshnik'. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated that the missile hit the city of Bila Tserkva, located about 80 km south of Kyiv.
Ukraine claimed that this was one of the largest single attacks on Kyiv since the outbreak of the full-scale Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. The attack resulted in at least 4 deaths and approximately 100 injuries in the Kyiv region.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Kremenko later stated that Russia launched another massive attack on the second night, causing a total of 12 deaths, including 3 children, and at least 79 others injured. The Ukrainian side stated that the Russian army launched a total of 69 missiles and 298 drones in the early hours of May 25, with 22 locations directly hit.
Besides Kyiv, several regions in eastern and central Ukraine were also struck. The prosecutor's office of Donetsk Oblast stated that the Russian army dropped 5 FAB-250 aerial bombs on Kramatorsk, causing 2 deaths, 3 injuries, and damaging multiple residential buildings and an educational institution. The governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast reported that the local attack caused at least 4 injuries.
Russia stated that the targets of these airstrikes were Ukrainian military command facilities and defense industrial bases, claiming the operation was retaliation for Ukraine's recent cross-border attacks. Ukraine emphasized that its long-range strike operations primarily target military facilities and energy infrastructure, rather than civilian targets.
Prior to this massive airstrike, Ukraine attacked a building in Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast, controlled by Russia, on May 23. Russia claimed the building was a student dormitory and that the attack resulted in 18 deaths; Ukraine denied attacking civilian facilities, stating the target was a local Russian drone command unit.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine have recently continued to expand the range of their long-range drone and missile attacks. Officials in Russia's Belgorod Oblast stated that a Ukrainian attack caused one death locally and led to power and water outages in some areas. Ukraine claimed that its drone attacks have caused six of Russia's ten largest refineries to stop crude oil processing and affected fuel supplies in the Russian-controlled Crimea region.
The deployment of the 'Oreshnik' hypersonic missile on the battlefield has also raised external concerns about the risk of war escalation. Public data shows that this missile is promoted by Russia as a new type of hypersonic weapon capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Ukraine and Western countries have warned in recent years that the Russia-Ukraine war is gradually evolving into a long-term, high-intensity war of attrition, accompanied by the testing of more dangerous strategic weapons.
Meanwhile, the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting is taking place in Sweden. US Secretary of State Rubio urged NATO countries before the meeting to expand their military-industrial capacity and warned that current Western ammunition production capacity is insufficient to meet future long-term war needs. The Ukraine issue, Arctic security, and defense spending remain among the core topics of this meeting.