Russia unleashes mass attack on Kyiv, uses hypersonic missile
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Representational.
Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia used the powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile during a mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv on Sunday that killed at least two people, marking the third time the weapon has been used in the four-year war, the Associated Press reported.
The intense aerial assault damaged buildings across the Ukrainian capital, including near government offices, residential buildings, schools and a market, Ukrainian authorities said. At least 83 people were wounded in the attack.
Air raid sirens blared through the night as smoke billowed across the city from strikes. Associated Press reporters heard powerful explosions near the city centre and close to government buildings.
The attack included 600 strike drones and 90 air, sea and ground-launched missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Ukrainian air defences destroyed and jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles. Around 19 missiles failed to reach targets, the Air Force said.
Ferit Hoxha, Albania's foreign minister, reported that the residence of the Albanian ambassador to Ukraine was hit during the attack, denouncing it as "unacceptable" and a "grave escalation".
The Oreshnik, which is capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads, struck the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
Russia's Defence Ministry on Sunday confirmed the weapon's use, as well as other missile types, to strike Ukrainian "military command and control facilities," air bases and military industrial enterprises. The ministry added that the attack was retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on "civilian facilities on Russian territory," without giving details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday denounced a drone strike on a college dormitory in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, which Moscow blamed on Kyiv. He said there were no military or law enforcement facilities near the college. Putin said he ordered the Russian military to retaliate.