The West became wary – Russia strikes western Ukraine gas infrastructure with Oreshnik ballistic missile, one of its most advanced weapons

Oreshnik is striking a gas storage facility, the largest in western Ukraine
Photo: TV screen

Russia fired a hypersonic Oreshnik missile at a target in western Ukraine overnight Thursday, near the border with NATO member Poland, in what has been labeled a brazen “warning” to the wider continent and the United States, CNN stresses.

Russia said it launched its latest attack in response to Ukraine’s purported attempt to hit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s home last month.

It marked the first time in more than a year that Moscow had unleashed the Oreshnik, which can contain multiple warheads and carry either conventional or nuclear payloads.

While Russia did not confirm the target of the Oreshnik missile fire, the country’s Ministry of Defense noted a “massive strike with high-precision long-range land and sea-based weapons, including the Oreshnik mobile medium-range ground-based missile system,” in a statement on Friday.

Map: halturnerradioshow.com

Meanwhile, Russian forces launched hundreds of air weapons in a barrage that Ukrainian Zelensky said targeted “energy facilities and civilian infrastructure” in multiple regions, including Kyiv. More than half a million households were without power in the Kyiv region Friday, with the capital’s mayor asking residents to leave the city temporarily to access power and heat elsewhere.

Europeans who are keen to fight Russia felt a chill down their spines.

European allies issued a tide of condemnation against Moscow on Friday, revealing a widened gap between Russian and Western positions soon after intensive US-led peace talks broke down in December.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas has said that Russia's use of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile constitutes an escalation against Ukraine and is intended as a warning to Europe and the United States.

Russian Special Presidential Envoy on Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev reminded EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas that there are no air defense systems capable of intercepting the Oreshnik.

"Kaja [Kallas] is not very bright or knowledgeable, but even she should know that there are no air defenses against the Oreshnik hypersonic Mach 10 missile," Dmitriev wrote, commenting on Kallas’ remarks following an Oreshnik strike by the Russian Armed Forces.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

The three leaders agreed that “Russia’s ongoing attacks in Ukraine, including of the use of an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in Western Ukraine this morning, were escalatory and unacceptable,” according to a Downing Street statement. It added that Moscow was using “fabricated allegations to justify the attack.”

Russia used the Oreshnik missile for the first time in November 2024, striking the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, even though the weapon was not fully developed at the time.

Moscow has depleted Ukrainian energy systems in recent weeks, against the backdrop of a biting winter freeze and failed diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year full-scale invasion.

“Last night’s combined attack on Kyiv was the most painful for the capital’s critical infrastructure,” the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, posted on Telegram. “Weather conditions are forecast to remain difficult in the coming days.”

Oreshnik is striking a gas storage facility, the largest in western Ukraine
Photo: TV screen

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that it had struck western Ukraine with a nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile, an ominous warning by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as U.S.-led negotiations to end the war have gained steam, ‘The New York Times’ stresses.

The attack was only the second time in the war that Moscow had fired that type of missile, known as the Oreshnik. The choice of western Ukraine — near the border with Poland, an E.U. and NATO member — as the target seemed intended to send a message to Europe as it strongly backs Kyiv in the settlement talks.

The Oreshnik can carry conventional or dummy warheads in addition to nuclear ones, and it was unclear how the missile used on Friday had been equipped. There were no reports of deaths from that strike.

The Russian Defense Ministry called the strike a response to an attempted Ukrainian attack last month on one of Mr. Putin’s residences in Russia. Ukrainian officials have called the Kremlin’s claims of an attack on the residence a lie intended to derail the peace talks, warning that Russia may be seeking a pretext for intensified strikes. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that there is no evidence that such an attack occurred on the Putin residence.

…As of January 1, 2026, Russia stopped supplying gas to Europe via Ukraine. Europe has refused Russian gas.

Now there is no technical possibility of restoring these supplies. The gas infrastructure in western Ukraine has been destroyed.

Both Kyiv Nazis and European politicians willing to support Nazis at the expense of their own populations have been punished for the attack on the Russian Presidential Residence.

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