Russia’s armed forces carried out a “massive strike” on Ukraine that included the use of the road-mobile, medium-range missile system “Oreshnik.” The announcement was made Friday, January 9, on the Russian Defense Ministry’s Telegram channel. The ministry said the strike was in response to what it claimed was a Ukrainian drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence in Russia’s Novgorod region overnight on December 29, 2025.
Ukraine’s Air Force said that around 11:30 p.m. on January 8 (12:30 a.m. Moscow time on January 9) it issued a nationwide missile alert due to the threat of ballistic missiles launched by Moscow from the Kapustin Yar range in Russia’s Astrakhan region. “Explosions were reported in Lviv region,” the service said.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi wrote on Telegram that the missile “traveled on a ballistic trajectory at about 13,000 kilometers per hour.” “That is an extremely high speed,” he said.
“This is the first time such a strike has been used against Lviv during the full-scale war. The city lies less than 70 kilometers from the European Union’s border. This is a clear signal to our international partners: Russia’s war respects no borders,” Sadovyi added.
Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, said on Telegram the strike hit a critical infrastructure site. Local Telegram channels suggested the target may have been the Stryi gas field and a gas storage facility in Lviv region.
Sadovyi said that, as a result of the missile strike, an automatic gas safety system was triggered in the town of Rudno within the Lviv urban community - temporarily cutting service to 376 customers. “This is not a network accident - the safety system activated due to the shock wave,” the mayor said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on X that Kyiv is initiating international action—an urgent UN Security Council meeting, a session of the NATO–Ukraine Council, and responsive steps within the EU, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
“A strike so close to the EU and NATO border poses a serious threat to the security of the European continent and is a test for the transatlantic community. We demand decisive measures in response to Russia’s reckless actions,” Sybiha said.
Previously, Russia used the “Oreshnik” overnight November 20–21, 2024, in a strike on the city of Dnipro. At the time, President Vladimir Putin said the strike involved “a ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic payload.” He claimed the “Oreshnik” has a range of 1,000 to 5,500 kilometers.
