 "A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Northern Arkhangelsk region, Russia. (Representative Image, Credit: Reuters)")
Russia on Friday said it attacked Ukraine with a nuclear-capable missile in its latest overnight barrage.
The Russian defence ministry said it attacked Ukraine with Oreshnik missile in response to a Ukrainian attack on one of the residences of President Vladimir Putin in December, according to Reuters.
Oreshnic is a hypersonic, nuclear-capable intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM). It is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. Currently, Ukraine does not appear to have capabilities to defend against such missiles.
The Russian attack amounts to a major escalation at a time when US President Donald Trump has ramped up efforts to bring the war to an end with a negotiated settlement. But such efforts have stalled as Putin has essentially rejected the latest proposal and opposed US and European security guarantees for Ukraine.
Retaliation for an attack that never happened?
While Russia has called the Oreshnik strike a response to a Ukrainian attack on one of the Putin’s residences, Ukraine has denied launching any such attack and the Trump administration has assessed the same.
After initially sympathising with Putin, Trump later said the administration has determined the claim about the attack was false.
“I don’t believe that strike happened. We don’t believe that happened now that we’ve been able to check,” Trump said on Sunday.
Russia hits nuclear-capable missile at Nato’s doorstep
While Russia did not immediately disclose the target, it appears the strike happened in Lviv in western Ukraine, which is near the border with Poland.
The Ukrainian air force on Thursday night said it had detected a launch at Russia’s Kapustin Yar site near the Caspian Sea. The range is a dedicated site to test nuclear weapons.
The alert about the detection was followed by explosions near Lviv. The sequence of events suggest the explosions could be from a missile launched from the Kapustin Yar range.
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View All“On 01/08/2026 at around 23:30, a missile threat was declared across the entire territory of Ukraine due to the risk of the enemy using ballistic missiles from the Kapustin Yar testing range. Explosions have been reported in the Lviv region. Information is being clarified,” the statement read.
The Oreshnik strike was part of a barrage that also struck Ukrainian capital Kyiv and killed at least four persons and injured 14.
Previously, Russia attacked Ukraine with Oreshnik in November 2024 . But there are notable differences between the two strikes.
For one, the previous strike targeted an aerospace factory in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. This time, Russia has struck Lviv in the western Ukraine close to the border with Nato member Poland. The message would not be lost on anyone.