Ukraine Hit with Oreshnik in Retaliation for Attempted Strike on Putin’s Residence – Russia
Russia says the Oreshnik hypersonic system struck key Ukrainian military-linked facilities after Kiev attempted a drone attack on President Putin’s residence.
Russia, PUREWILAYAH.COM - Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that its cutting-edge Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile system was used overnight against military-related targets inside Ukraine, in direct retaliation for what Moscow described as a terrorist attack by the Kiev regime on the residence of President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Novgorod Region.
According to the ministry, Ukraine launched 91 long-range UAVs at the presidential compound on December 28–29. All drones were intercepted by Russian air defenses. Moscow warned at the time that the attack would not go unanswered.
The ministry stated that the retaliatory strike employed the Oreshnik system alongside other long-range, high-precision land- and sea-based weapons, as well as attack drones.
Military and Energy Infrastructure Targeted
Russian officials said the strike targeted drone production facilities, energy infrastructure, and other sites supporting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.
“The objectives of the strike have been achieved,” the Defense Ministry declared, stressing that no hostile action by the criminal Ukrainian regime will go unanswered.
Late Thursday, video footage circulated online showing what appeared to be an Oreshnik strike in western Ukraine. CCTV recordings from Lviv Region, near the Polish border, showed multiple projectiles descending in rapid succession — a pattern consistent with the missile system’s characteristics.
Lviv Mayor Andrey Sadovoy confirmed that “a piece of critical infrastructure” had been hit. Russian Telegram channels suggested the strike targeted an underground gas facility in the city of Striy, approximately 60 kilometers south of Lviv.
Strategic Message to Kiev and Its Western Backers
This mark the second combat use of the Oreshnik system. Russia first deployed the nuclear-capable ballistic missile in November 2024, striking a weapons plant in the Ukrainian city of Dnepr during what Moscow described as a successful combat test. By late 2025, the system had entered mass production and was also deployed in Belarus, Russia’s close ally.
President Vladimir Putin has previously said the Oreshnik has no equivalent anywhere in the world, likening its impact to a “falling meteor.” According to Putin, the missile carries dozens of homing warheads, travels at ten times the speed of sound, and annihilates everything within the strike zone.
The operation underscores Moscow’s message that Ukrainian provocations—enabled and encouraged by Washington’s reckless policy and Donald Trump’s aggressive rhetoric—will be met with overwhelming force. While the United States continues to fuel escalation from afar, Russia is signaling that attacks on its leadership and territory cross a red line with immediate and decisive consequences.
For Moscow, the strike is not merely retaliation, but a warning: strategic patience has limits, and sovereignty is non-negotiable. (PW)