Russia Deploys Oreshnik Missile in Massive Retaliatory Strikes on Kyiv

Following a May 22 Ukrainian drone strike on a student dormitory in Starobilsk, Luhansk region, which killed 21 people, Vladimir Putin ordered a large-scale retaliatory campaign. While Russia characterized the Starobilsk incident as a "terrorist attack" on civilians, Ukraine maintained it had targeted an elite Russian drone command unit known as Rubicon.

On May 24, Russia launched one of its heaviest aerial assaults since 2022, deploying approximately 600 drones and 90 missiles against Kyiv and surrounding regions. The barrage included the third operational use of the nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile, which struck the city of Bila Tserkva. In Kyiv, the strikes killed at least four people and wounded up to 100 others, damaging residential buildings, schools, the National Art Museum, and the offices of the World Health Organization.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov subsequently issued an ultimatum to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding the evacuation of foreign diplomats from Kyiv to avoid "systematic strikes" against decision-making centers. While some officials warned of direct military confrontation, EU diplomats refused to leave the capital. Ukraine responded with its own long-range strikes, targeting the Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk and financial infrastructure in Sevastopol using Storm Shadow missiles. International leaders, including Emmanuel Macron and Kaja Kallas, condemned the use of the Oreshnik system as "reckless nuclear brinkmanship" and a sign of Russia's military dead end.