“Moscow's demonstrative step.” This is a challenge for Warsaw, Bucharest and Budapest

Russia's use of the Oreshnik ballistic missile was a very demonstrative step on Moscow's part; its impact right on the borders of the EU is a challenge for Warsaw, Bucharest and even Budapest, said the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Friday evening.

– Oreshnik was used again, this time against the Lviv region. This was again demonstrative – very close to the borders of the European Union. And this, from the point of view of the use of medium-range ballistics, is as much a signal and a challenge for Warsaw, and for Bucharest, and even for Budapest, as for other capitals, Zelensky said in a daily video recording.

Ukraine's president warned that Russia's actions are cynical because it does not even “try to come up with a credible reason for using such weapons.”

– We need a system of joint actions, a system of common defense that actually works. Do we have such a system today? This question remains unanswered, because the same dilemma exists throughout Europe – will they defend its capital (or will Europeans defend their capitals – PAP) if something goes to Putin's head (Russian leader Vladimir) – emphasized Zelensky.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer concluded after telephone consultations that the Russian Oreshnik missile attack on Ukraine was an “unacceptable escalation.”

Russia's constant attacks, including “the use of the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile in western Ukraine,” are unacceptable, said the leaders, quoted in a statement by the British government's press service.

According to Downing Street, Starmer stressed that “Russia used fabricated accusations to justify its attack.”

Russia described the strike as a response to the drone attack that Ukraine allegedly carried out on December 29, 2025, on Putin's residence in the Novgorod Oblast. The Ukrainian side denied that such an operation had taken place.

According to the CIA's assessment, neither Putin's residence nor himself were the targets of the Ukrainian drone attack, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Oreshnik is an intermediate or medium-long-range missile (IRBM – Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile). Theoretically, the missile can carry nuclear warheads – six in total, with the ability to independently target different targets – although conventional payloads are used in the war with Ukraine.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has classified the attack using the Oreshnik missile on critical infrastructure in the Lviv region as a war crime, Reuters reported on Friday.

According to the Ukrainian side's assessment, the attack was aimed at damaging critical infrastructure during severe frosts. According to statements by representatives of the Ukrainian administration, the missile used in the attack was equipped with dummy warheads that caused “minor damage to buildings at a state-owned enterprise in the Lviv region.”

Despite this, disconnections from electricity supplies were applied in Ukraine on Friday without prior notice, in an emergency regime. In Kiev, in many districts, there was no light for about 12 hours. Many residents also did not have heat or running water.

From Kiev Jarosław Junko (PAP)

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