Officials reported that Russia overnight tested Ukraine by bombing it with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, killing at least four people in the capital. It made only the second use of a potent, novel, hypersonic missile that hit western Ukraine, in a vivid demonstration to the NATO allies of Kyiv.

The severe volley and the introduction of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed days after Ukraine and its supporters announced significant strides in finding a compromise on the manner in which it should protect the land against further acts of Moscow aggression, in case an agreement on a peace deal situation is reached by the U.S.

The leaders of Europe described the attack as escalatory and unacceptable, and the top foreign policy envoy of the European Union declared that the response by Russian President Vladimir Putin to diplomacy was “more missiles and destruction.”

At the same time as the attack, a chilly new turn in the relationship between Moscow and Washington came due to the Russian denunciations of the U.S. confiscation of an oil tanker in the North Atlantic. It arrives when U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that he is on board with a tough sanctions package that will economically cripple Moscow, which has not yet offered a public indication that it is ready to compromise on its maximalist demands on Ukraine.

Apartment buildings in Kyiv were without heat

Ukrainian officials reported that four people died and at least 25 were injured in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, with the apartment buildings having been hit overnight.

One of the killed persons was an emergency medical assistant worker, as Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko reported. The police said four doctors and one officer were injured during the response to the attacks.

City authorities halted the heating of approximately 6,000 apartment buildings in snowy Kyiv in the middle of the day, when the temperature was approximately minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 Fahrenheit), Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced. There was also a disruption of water supplies.

He said that municipal services used portable boiler units to restore power and heat to the public facilities, such as hospitals and maternity wards.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Qatari Embassy in Kyiv was damaged in the attack, which was crucial in negotiating the release of captives of war.

He demanded a clear answer from the world community, especially the U.S., which, according to him, the Russians take seriously.

According to Moscow, the attack was retaliatory

The Security Service of Ukraine reported that it found the debris of the Oreshnik missile in the western part of the country, the Lviv region. Investigators said it was launched on the Kapustin Yar test range of Russia on the southwestern Caspian Sea.

“There was a great bang of dismay, and I heard, you know, it is a natural thing to hear these things nowadays in the war,” Lviv inhabitant Kristofer Chokhovich, who claimed he was an American, said.”I want all people in the world to understand that Ukraine is powerful, and we are not worried about the number of missiles you launch.”

Ulyana Fedun, who was another resident, said the attack was unpleasant but not frightening since they had been “living in this state for four years.”

The Defense Ministry of Russia reported that the attack was a retaliation for what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian drone strike on one of the residences of Putin last month. Trump and Ukraine denied the Russian allegation.

Moscow did not mention the point of the Oreshnik strike, but the Russian media and military bloggers reported that it was an underground natural gas storage facility in the Lviv region. The stream of Western military assistance to Ukraine is supplied by a centre in Poland, which is located right on the opposite side of the border.

Putin has earlier mentioned that the Oreshnik travels at Mach 10, as a meteorite, and any missile defense system cannot deal with it. Some of them employed during a typical strike would be as destructive as a nuclear strike, as Putin has warned the West that Russia would employ it to retaliate against the allies of Kyiv, which would enable Russia to attack it with longer-range missiles.

The Ukrainian intelligence reports that the warhead is capable of 6 warheads, with each warhead consisting of 6 submunitions.

In November 2024, Russia launched the Oreshnik missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Analysts believe that it provides Russia with an additional aspect of psychological warfare that unsettles Ukrainians and frightens Western nations that support Ukraine.

Ukraine is in need of international assistance

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced that Ukraine would be undertaking some international action in reaction to the utilization of the missile, including an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council and a Ukraine-NATO Council meeting.

A Monday afternoon meeting at the Security Council on Ukraine was scheduled.

“To be so near the EU and NATO borders, such a strike is a serious challenge to the security of the European continent and a test of the transatlantic community. We insist on vigorous retaliation against the irresponsible conduct of Russia, ” he said in a post on X.

The request for an emergency meeting of the Security Council has been delivered to the council by Ukraine, and six out of the 15 members have requested the council to have a meeting on Monday; however, no date has been fixed yet, given that the discussions have been confidential and thus the diplomat calls on anonymity.

At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the global community to continue pushing towards peace and end the misery in Ukraine.

Due to this tragic scenario, the Holy See is highly emphatic on the urgency of an immediate ceasefire and dialogue with the honest pursuit of avenues that will lead to peace. The pontiff addressed the ambassadors of the various countries across the world.

Britain, France, and Germany leaders said they discussed the attack and that it was an escalatory and unacceptable procedure.

The launch of Oreshnik, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, was intended to send a message to Europe and to the U.S.

On social media, Kallas wrote: Putin does not want peace. More missiles and destruction to Russia is the answer to diplomacy.

Attacks hit Kyiv apartment blocks

This is what Tkachenko, the head of the military administration in Kyiv, said: “the overnight attack struck several districts. A drone hit the roof of a multistory housing, and two floors of another residential building were destroyed in the Desnyanskyi district.”

A drone destroyed a multistory building partially, and a fire took place in the Dnipro district.

The Kyiv attack had broken the windows of Dmytro Karpenko. He arrived at the house of his neighbors when he saw that it was aflame.

“Naturally, the actions of Russia mean that they do not want peace. But people do want peace, people are suffering, people are dying,” said the 45-year-old.