Russia fires Oreshnik ballistic missile at western Ukraine near Poland border

Moscow said it fired an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile that struck western Ukraine near Lviv, about 40 miles from the border with Poland, a NATO country. Russia said the strike hit drone-making and energy infrastructure related to Ukraine’s war effort, and no casualties were reported.

It was the second known time Moscow had launched the nuclear-capable weapon. The Oreshnik has been promoted by President Vladimir V. Putin, who called it "unstoppable," and by Russian officials as a product of the domestic military industry. The Pentagon says the missile is a tweak of Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile, tested since 2011.

The name Oreshnik means "hazelnut tree," a possible reference to sub-munitions that experts say resemble clusters of hazelnuts; the missile carries multiple warheads that separate in flight. Its first known use was in November 2024, when Russia fired one at a military facility in Dnipro.

The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, said a critical infrastructure facility had been hit. The Ukrainian Air Force said the ballistic missile traveled at about 8,000 miles per hour, and the Oreshnik has often been described as hypersonic. Ukrainian investigators are examining components of the missile; Col.

Key Topics

World, Oreshnik Missile, Russia, Ukraine, Lviv, Vladimir Putin