Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 9, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
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Russia launched its Oreshnik hypersonic missile at Ukraine, targeting energy facilities. The strike follows an alleged Ukrainian drone attack, which Kyiv denies.
Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Russian military said on Friday that it had fired its hypersonic Oreshnik missile at a target in Ukraine as part of what it said was a massive overnight strike on energy facilities and drone manufacturing sites there.
The Defence Ministry said in a statement that the strike was a response to an attempted Ukrainian drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences at the end of December.
Kyiv has called the Russian assertion that it tried to attack the residence, in Russia's Novgorod's region, "a lie."
The governor of Ukraine's western Lviv region had earlier said that a Russian attack had struck an infrastructure target, which unverified social media reports said was a massive underground gas storage facility.
Reuters could not verify that.
Ukrainian media had quoted the Ukrainian Air Force as saying that a ballistic missile had been used in the strike which had been travelling at a speed of nearly 13,000 km per hour (8,000 mph).
Moscow first fired an Oreshnik – Russian for hazel tree - against what it said was a military factory in Ukraine in November 2024. On that occasion Ukrainian sources said the missile was carrying dummy warheads, not explosives, and caused limited damage.
Putin has said that the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile is impossible to intercept because of speeds reportedly more than 10 times the speed of sound and that its destructive power is comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, even when fitted with a conventional warhead.
Some Western officials have expressed scepticism about the Oreshnik's capabilities. One U.S. official said in December 2024 that the weapon was not seen as a game-changer on the battlefield.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
A missile is a weapon that is self-propelled and guided, designed to deliver an explosive payload to a target. Missiles can be launched from various platforms, including land, air, and sea.
A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can be remotely controlled or fly autonomously using software-controlled flight plans. Drones are used for various purposes, including surveillance and military operations.
Military strategy refers to the planning and execution of operations to achieve specific objectives in warfare. It involves the deployment of forces and resources to gain an advantage over an opponent.
Energy facilities are installations that generate, transmit, or distribute energy, including power plants, substations, and renewable energy sites. They play a crucial role in providing electricity and other forms of energy.
A hypersonic missile is a type of missile that travels at speeds greater than Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound). These missiles are designed to evade detection and interception due to their high speed and maneuverability.
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