Russia fires "Oreshnik" hypersonic missile near NATO border amid broader strike on Ukraine

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published January 9, 2026

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Russia fired an "Oreshnik" hypersonic missile at a target in Ukraine’s western Lviv region near the Polish border, in what Kyiv’s European allies described as an attempt to intimidate them from supporting Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Moscow said the launch was retaliation for an alleged Ukrainian drone attempt against one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences in late December, an allegation Ukraine denied and U.S. officials said did not happen.

A senior Ukrainian official said the missile appeared to carry inert “dummy” warheads and caused limited damage at a state-enterprise workshop in the Lviv region.

Ukraine said the overnight assault included 242 drones and 36 missiles, killing four people in Kyiv, injuring more than 20, knocking out electricity to more than half a million homes, and damaging the Qatari embassy in the capital with no injuries reported.