SANN News
Russia has claimed to have used a new ‘Orezhnik’ medium-range ballistic missile in its latest attack on Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday that the missile was used to launch a wide-scale attack on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
The ministry said the attack was in response to claims that a Ukrainian drone had attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence last month. Ukraine has denied the allegations. US President Donald Trump has also publicly denied Russia’s claim that a Ukrainian drone had attacked Putin’s residence.
According to the Russian side, the Oreshnik ballistic missile, along with other land- and sea-launched missiles, was used to attack Ukraine’s energy and strategic infrastructure. Ukrainian officials said four people were killed and at least 22 were injured in the drone and missile strikes that took place on Friday night.
An unidentified type of ballistic missile hit a critical infrastructure in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovy said. The Ukrainian Air Force’s Western Command said the missile was traveling at a speed of about 13,000 kilometers per hour and its technical characteristics are being investigated. One of the dead was an emergency medical worker, said Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration. Five rescue workers working at the scene of the attack were injured, Ukraine’s security service said.
The attack caused damage in several districts of the capital, Kyiv. In the Desnyansky district, a drone crashed into the roof of a building, damaging the floors of residential buildings in another part of the same district. In the Dnipro district, several buildings were set on fire after falling debris from the drone.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack had disrupted water and electricity supplies in some areas of the capital. The attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia could take advantage of the cold weather to launch a large-scale offensive. He accused Russia of trying to make life more difficult by targeting snow-covered roads and bad weather.
