Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling on the United States to give a “clear response” to an overnight barrage of Russian military strikes in Kyiv and Lviv, which included the launch of a nuclear-capable missile.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed it launched the nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile on Thursday evening, marking the second time the Kremlin has fired the Oreshnik in combat. Zelensky said the Oreshnik came alongside a Russian launch of 242 drones, 13 ballistic missiles aimed at “energy facilities and civilian infrastructure,” and 22 cruise missiles.
“A clear reaction from the world is needed. Above all from the United States, whose signals Russia truly pays attention to. Russia must receive signals that it is its obligation to focus on diplomacy, and must feel consequences every time it again focuses on killings and the destruction of infrastructure,” Zelensky wrote on X.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram post that it launched the Oreshnik in response to an alleged drone attack by Ukrainian forces on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Novgorod region home in December. The Russian posting warned, “Any terrorist actions by the criminal Ukrainian regime will not remain unanswered in the future.”
Ukraine has denied launching the attack on Putin’s residence, ripping it as “another lie” to foil peace efforts. Russia prepped the Oreshnik system in Belarus after the alleged attack, sending a warning sign to Ukraine and its allies.
Russia first launched the ballistic missile, capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, in Nov. 2024 in Dnipro, Ukraine, marking the only other known use of the missile until Thursday evening. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha said Thursday’s Oreshnik launch landed in the Lviv region, in the very western part of Ukraine.
“Such a strike close to [the European Union] and NATO border is a grave threat to the security on the European continent and a test for the transatlantic community. We demand strong responses to Russia’s reckless actions,” Sybiha said. “It is absurd that Russia attempts to justify this strike with the fake ‘Putin residence attack’ that never happened. Another proof that Moscow does not need any real reasons for its terror and war.”
Sybiha also pointed to the U.S.’s seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker displaying a Russian flag, saying “there needs to be more strong steps against Russian tanker fleet.”
The Trump administration captured the Russian-registered Marinera, originally called Bella 1, on Wednesday in the North Atlantic Ocean as part of its pursuit of sanctioned oil tankers coming from Venezuela.
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The Trump administration also ousted former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro — a Putin ally — last week, arresting him on drug trafficking charges. Maduro pleaded not guilty.
The White House did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment on Russia’s Oreshnik launch.