EU labels Russia’s Oreshnik use a ‘scare tactic’, Macron condemns Kyiv strikes
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "EU labels Russia’s Oreshnik use a ‘scare tactic’, Macron condemns Kyiv strikes")
Local residents unroll plastic sheeting to fix a heavily damaged residential building's windows following Russian strikes in Kyiv on May 24, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photograph: (AFP)
Russia’s military said it had used the Oreshnik missile against Ukraine for the third time since the war began, claiming the strike was carried out in retaliation for what it described as “terrorist attacks” by Kyiv on civilian infrastructure inside Russian territory.
Russia launched one of its biggest aerial assaults on Kyiv in the more than four-year-long war, killing at least four people and causing widespread damage, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attack reportedly included the use of Moscow’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile.
The large-scale strike came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of retaliation following Ukrainian attacks in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine that reportedly killed 21 people at a vocational school.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired around 600 drones and 90 missiles during the overnight assault. Officials claimed that Ukrainian air defences intercepted 549 drones and 55 missiles.
The latest bombardment also highlighted Ukraine’s growing shortage of air defence missiles, especially US-made Patriot systems, as demand has increased following the recent US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Telegram, called Russia "genuinely deranged". "Three Russian missiles against a water supply facility, a market burnt down, dozens of residential buildings damaged, several ordinary schools, and he launched his 'Oreshnik' against Bila Tserkva (southwest of Kyiv)," he said, referring to the Russian president.
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European leaders condemn Russian strikes
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Russia of attempting to “terrorise Ukraine” through massive attacks on civilian areas and the reported use of the Oreshnik missile.
“Russia hit a dead-end on the battlefield, so it terrorises Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centres,” Kallas wrote on X.
“Moscow reportedly using Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles, systems designed to carry nuclear warheads, is a political scare-tactic and reckless nuclear brinkmanship,” she added.
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the strikes, accusing Russia of targeting civilians during the latest wave of attacks.
“Russian strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine continue... France condemns this attack and the use of the Oreshnik ballistic missile,” Macron wrote on X, adding that the strikes reflected “the dead end of Russia's war of aggression”.
