Massive overnight attack on Kiev. The pictures show that the Russians probably shot Oresnik as well
Russia hit the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Sunday with a massive barrage of missiles and drones that damaged residential buildings and schools, killing at least one person, according to local officials quoted by Reuters.
Explosions were heard across the city shortly after 1:00 a.m. (the same time in Romania), shortly after the Ukrainian air force warned that Russia might launch an Oresnik medium-range ballistic missile.
The Ukrainian Air Force did not immediately respond to a question about whether an Oreshnik missile hit any targets during the attack.
Several X accounts that track open-source weaponry used in the Ukraine war said the overnight footage likely shows Oresnik submunitions.
Video footage from earlier tonight shows the likely impact of submunitions from a Russian “Oreshnik” Intermediate-Range Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile, equipped with a Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV), in the vicinity of the Ukrainian city of Bila… pic.twitter.com/kF7LBcMYqZ
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 24, 2026
Russian forces appear to have struck Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, with an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile.
Seen here, Oreshnik submunitions rain down on Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/pd2wNmiz5Z
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) May 23, 2026
Zelensky's warning
President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned on Saturday that Russia was preparing an attack against Ukraine with Oreshnik, citing information from Ukrainian, US and European intelligence services.
Russia has already hit Ukraine twice with such a missile, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed is impossible to intercept due to its speed of more than 10 times the speed of sound.
Zelensky's warning came after Putin ordered his military to prepare options for retaliation against Ukraine for a drone attack on a student dormitory in the occupied Luhansk region on Friday.
The Ukrainian military has denied the allegations and said it targeted a Russian drone command unit.
At least one dead and 20 injured in Kyiv
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that one person was killed after a nine-story residential building in the capital's central Shevchenko district was hit. Emergency services rushed to the scene to put out the fire, he said.
In the same neighborhood, several people were trapped in a school bomb shelter after an attack blocked the entrance with debris, Klitschko said. Several people are believed to be trapped in a shelter in a business center in Shevchenko, the head of the city's military administration said.
According to the city's military administration, 20 people were injured in the overnight attack.
Three other people were injured in the Kyiv region, according to Governor Mykola Kalashnyk.
Images posted on social networks confirmed that the attack on Kiev was a large-scale one.
This may be the most infernal night in Kyiv since the start of the full-scale war. Dozens of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic missiles and drones attacking the capital non-stop. Explosions are so loud, that the ground is shaking. Just praying that everyone sees the… pic.twitter.com/xdtN1rEKul
— Kyiv. The City of Courage (@Kyiv) May 24, 2026
Several Russian missiles completely destroyed the market in Lukyanivka.
It has massive threads. Another targeted war crime. pic.twitter.com/HpxlNaEAc1
— Denis Kazansky (@den_kazansky) May 24, 2026
